Dossier
Wadden Sea
Our research in and around the Wadden Sea is very broad and varies from dikes, mussel beds and seals to birds, litter and salt marshes. In this dossier, you will find news, backgrounds and research results from Wageningen University & Research on the Wadden Sea and Wadden Islands.
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Projects about the Wadden Sea
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Effectiveness of area protection measures (MEGMA)
01 January 2024 - Project - The natural development of unfished mussel beds in the Wadden Sea will be mapped. Knowledge that arises from this can be used directly in policymaking regarding the management of the Wadden Sea. -
TWO advice
01 January 2024 - Project - The policy and management of the harbour porpoises, grey seals and common seals in and around the Wadden Sea is laid down in the five-year Seal Management Plan (SMP). This is drawn up by the Trilateral Seal Expert Group (TSEG) and approved by the responsible ministers in the three Wadden Sea countries. -
TMAP Salt marshes
01 January 2024 - Project - One of the ecological objectives for the Wadden Sea, both at national and at trilateral (i.e. Dutch, German and Danish) level, is to maximise the area of semi-natural salt marshes. Active interventions to preserve the existing salt marshes should be implemented in as natural a way as possible. -
QSR Wadden Sea 2023
01 January 2023 - Project - Within the framework of the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Programme (TMAP) the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat (CWSS) regularly produces a Quality Status Report (QSR) of the Wadden Sea. The next report is planned for the end of 2021. In this project we contribute to the QSR2021. -
eDNA zooplankton
01 January 2023 - Project - The biodiversity of zooplankton has been underexposed in Dutch monitoring programs for years. However, animal plankton (zooplankton) plays a key role in marine and larger fresh waters in the transmission of primary production (phytoplankton) to fish and higher trophic levels (fish-eating birds, seals). Knowledge about zooplankton is therefore important in the development and assessment of effective measures in relation to nature-inclusive activities, such as aquaculture, fishing (fish and shellfish) and nature development. Recently, new measurement methods have been and are being developed that can be used in new measurement and analysis programs to be developed. These methodologies need to be improved and simultaneous development offers the opportunity to compare their opportunities, limitations, advantages and disadvantages. -
Shellfish, sustainable and healthy
01 January 2022 - Project - Shellfish fishery and farming takes place in the waters of the Oosterschelde, Grevelingenmeer and Wadden Sea. These are protected nature areas where many other parties also have an interest. Public support is needed to be able to use these areas. Having a social licence to produce is therefore essential for Dutch mussel and oyster farmers. This requires the growers to continuously pay active attention to sustainable and nature-inclusive business operations. This project makes the available scientific knowledge about sustainable, nature-inclusive shellfish production and shellfish as a healthy, safe and sustainable product available in an accessible manner for practical use by shellfish farmers, chain companies and fisheries schools. Nature and consumer organisations and governments also benefit from this knowledge. The various target groups receive up-to-date knowledge on various subjects in the form of master classes and mutual exchanges take place. These are supported by (interactive) popular documentation, which is available online and kept up-to-date. -
Drone mapping of mussel beds
20 January 2017 - Project - The applicability of drones (UAVs) in marine monitoring is researched in running mussel bed projects within WOT by also analysing a selection of mussel beds with UAVs. The UAVs are equipped with different cameras such as RGB, hyperspectral and infrared. The search is for optimal techniques for mapping contours, but also for other parameters such as composition (oysters/ mussels), which will likely be needed shortly for fisheries and environmental policy regarding the oyster harvest in the Wadden Sea. Results will benefit the WOT programme, but will also be wider applicable within marine monitoring and research.