Particularly valuable and vulnerable areas are those that on the basis of scientific assessments have been identified as being of great importance for biodiversity and for biological production in the entire North Sea-Skagerrak area. Areas may for example be identified as particularly valuable and vulnerable because they are important tats or spawning grounds for fish, important habi-tats for seabirds, or contain coral reefs. Areas were selected using predefined criteria. The main criteria were that the area concerned was impor-tant for biodiversity or for biological production.
In addition, a number of secondary criteria were evaluated, for example economic, social and cul-tural importance, and scientific value.
The vulnerability of valuable areas to various environmental pressures has also been assessed on the basis of the species and habitats that occur naturally in each area and their productivity. The vulnerability of a habitat or species to different environmental pressures varies, and has been assessed on the basis of the likely impacts of dif-ferent pressures on species or habitat develop-ment and survival. There may also be temporal and spatial variations in vulnerability. The
vulnera-bility of an area is considered to be an intrinsic property of the species and habitats to be found there, regardless of whether or not specific envi-ronmental pressures are actually acting on them.
The designation of areas as particularly valua-ble and vulneravalua-ble does not have any direct effect in the form of restrictions on commercial activi-ties, but indicates that these are areas where it is important to show special caution. To protect par-ticularly valuable species and habitats, it is for example possible to use current legislation to make activities in such areas subject to special requirements. Such requirements may apply to the whole of a particularly valuable and vulnerable area or part of it, and must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The scientific basis for the management plan identifies 12 particularly valuable areas on the basis of scientific assessments, eight along the coast and four in the open sea (in the North Sea).
All 12 areas are generally vulnerable, but their vul-nerability varies depending on which pressures act on them and at which times of year (see Box 3.5 on vulnerability). In addition, the coastal zone has been identified as a generally valuable area.
A brief description of each of the particularly valuable and vulnerable areas in the North Sea and Skagerrak is given below:
Box 3.5 Vulnerability Vulnerability can be defined as a measure of
how liable a species or habitat is to be negatively affected by external, often anthropogenic pres-sures.
Thus the vulnerability of an area is consid-ered to be an intrinsic property of the species and habitats to be found there, regardless of whether or not specific environmental pressures are actually acting on them. An assessment of the vulnerability of an area is generally based on which species and habitats occur naturally in the area and their productivity. Factors such as sea-sonal variations, distribution patterns, age/stage of the life cycle, behaviour and biological charac-teristics are used to determine the vulnerability of a particular species. Vulnerability to environ-mental pressures is assessed on the basis of the likely impacts of different pressures on the development and survival of a species or popula-tion. Some species are particularly vulnerable at times of the year when most of the population is
concentrated in a limited area (for example fish during spawning and seabirds during the breed-ing season). The vulnerability of habitats depends on factors such as the substrate type (for example sand or rock), whether it contains sessile or motile species, and whether the habi-tat type is rare. Certain areas dominated by long-lived, habitat-forming species such as cor-als and sponges may be particularly vulnerable to certain environmental pressures because habitat formation is a very slow process. Areas where biological production is high may be par-ticularly vulnerable at certain times of year (for example when eggs and larvae (the early stages of fish) are present). Cumulative environmental effects may increase vulnerability. Vulnerability can be measured at individual, population, com-munity and ecosystem level. For management purposes, impacts at population, community and ecosystem level are most important.
1) Bremanger-Ytre Sula
This is an important breeding, moulting, passage and wintering area for seabirds, and an important whelping area for the common seal.
2) Korsfjorden
The qualities that are considered to make the area particularly valuable are its habitat, landscape and geological diversity, the kelp forests and rich bird life, and its cultural history. The area has particu-larly large stands of kelp forest (Laminaria hyper-Figure 3.15 Particularly valuable and vulnerable areas in the North Sea and Skagerrak
Source: Directorate for Nature Management, Norwegian Mapping Authority.
Sandeel habitat north (Viking Bank)
Karmøyfeltet bank area
Boknafjorden/Jærstrendene protected landscape
Listastrendene protected landscape
Siragrunnen (bank area)
Skagerrak transect
Outer
Mackerel spawning grounds
Bremanger - Ytre Sula
5° 10°
60°
58°
62°
Norway
Denmark Legend
Particularly valuable and vulnerable areas North Sea–Skagerrak management plan area Coastal zone
Skagerrak North Sea
Sandeel habitat south
borea) and shell sand deposits. This is a varied coastal area that is representative of the islands and skerries along the coastline of Western Nor-way and shows considerable variation in underwa-ter topography.
3) Karmøyfeltet bank area
Biological production is high in this area. Karmøy-feltet includes spawning grounds for Norwegian spring-spawning herring and retention areas for drifting fish eggs and larvae, which makes it attractive to predators such as seabirds and marine mammals. The area is important at ecosys-tem level because there are large concentrations of shrimps, a key species in the ecosystem.
4) Outer Boknafjorden/Jærstrendene protected landscape
This area has a number of distinctive features and includes large tracts of shallow water with sandy and rocky bottom. Strong wave action and cur-rents result in a physically dynamic environment, with a specialised fauna that are able to live in such challenging conditions. The geological and ecological diversity of the area is high, ranging from open sea areas in the west via shallow kelp forest, beaches that are rich in drift seaweed and sand dune systems, to nutrient-rich lakes and mires in the east. The sand dune systems are of international value and thousands of waders con-gregate to rest and forage for food along the shoreline during migration. This is also a whelp-ing ground for common seals and includes a num-ber of protected areas.
5) Listastrendene protected landscape
This is an extremely important area for birds. It is also a type locality for sand dune landscape and supports an interesting sand dune flora. The area includes the oldest known end moraine in Nor-way. There are also raised beaches and vegetation characteristic of shingle beaches and nutrient-rich mires.
6) Siragrunnen bank area
The area provides good spawning conditions and food supplies for a number of fish species. It is a spawning ground for Norwegian spring-spawning herring and a retention area for pelagic fish eggs and larvae. This makes it attractive to predators such as seabirds and marine mammals.
Siragrun-nen is also one of the most important areas in the region for lobster.
7) Skagerrak transect
Habitat and landscape diversity are high in this area, and there are valuable geological features. It is also important because of its bird life and cul-tural history. The transect extends from the shoreline on the seaward side of the islands and skerries, between the northern point of Tromøya off Arendal and the land-locked bay Ruakerkilen near Fevik, and out to a depth of about 600 metres in the Norwegian Trench. The transect includes the intertidal zone, a terminal moraine (Raet), brackish-water areas at the mouth of the river Nidelva, the seaweed zone, eelgrass beds, soft-bottom areas, hard-soft-bottom areas with kelp forests and corals, and an area that is closed to lobster trapping. The area is representative of the Skager-rak.
8) Outer Oslofjord
The outer Oslofjord includes Ormø–Færder pro-tected landscape and Ytre Hvaler national park.
Ormø–Færder protected landscape provides habi-tats for a number of rare and threatened plant and animal species, has a rich bird life and offers a range of opportunities for outdoor recreation. Ytre Hvaler national park is a breeding, passage and wintering area for seabirds, and has the world’s largest recorded coral reef in inshore waters. Con-ditions in the area are very distinctive because of the influence of the Glomma (Norway’s largest river), which flows into the sea here. There is also wide variation in underwater topography and sea-bed conditions.
9 ) The Skagerrak
This is a moulting and wintering area for seabirds, and a large proportion of Norway’s common guil-lemot population is found here from late summer to winter. The common guillemot is now classified as critically endangered after a dramatic popula-tion decline in recent years.
10–11) Sandeel habitat north (Viking Bank) and south The Viking Bank is a habitat and spawning ground for sandeels and a feeding area for whales that feed on sandeels. Sandeels are a key species in the North Sea ecosystem, and are stationary because they have a strong preference for a
sea-bed of coarse sand in which they can burrow.
Sandeels are also an important commercial spe-cies.
Sandeel habitat south includes several other areas of habitat and spawning grounds for sandeels in the central parts of the North Sea.
12) Mackerel spawning grounds
This covers the most important spawning areas for mackerel, which is an ecologically and com-mercially important stock in the North Sea.
The coastal zone
In addition to the list above, the coastal zone out to 25 km from the baseline has been identified as a generally valuable area. The topography is var-ied and complex, with a high diversity of underwa-ter habitat types and a rich flora and fauna. The area is important for seabirds, and is used by both seals and whales. The actual shoreline and beach habitats are also important. Species and habitats along the shoreline can be vulnerable to oil pollu-tion, litter, bycatches, and expansion of recrea-tional activities.