Marking Marine Reserve in the North Sea

As part of the campaign ‘SOS North Sea” Greenpeace is present during one month at the Cleaver Bank in the North Sea. With the mv Sleipner the organisation charts the biodiversity of the sea beds, shows the rich variety of the flora and fauna in the area with the help of a robot camera (ROV) and protects the vulnerable life on the sea beds by letting down wooden statues of sea horses tightened to heavy rocks on the bottom. By means of these ‘gatekeepers’ the sea bottom is protected against destructive fishing methods and other damaging practises. This year the European ministers of Fisheries start a new European fisheries policy. This international Greenpeace campaign is executed to pressure the politicians, especially the responsible Dutch Secretary of State Henk Bleker to plead on European level for more marine reserves to secure the future of healthy seas and oceans. During 20 years politicians speak about protection of precious areas at sea but there have never been made any decisions to start with a policy to make it happen.