Rich reefs in the North Sea : exploring the possibilities of promoting the establishment of natural reefs and colonisation of artificial hard substrate

This project, carried out on the instructions of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is a preliminary study aiming to give an overview of possibilities and knowledge gaps pertaining to hard substrate in relation to ecological added value. It intends to provide input for the national policy on “Building with North Sea Nature”, which aims to bolster the conservation and sustainable use of species and habitats native to the Dutch section of the North Sea. As a result of various human activities, past and present, the North Sea is currently severely impoverished, not only in terms of the decline of species, but also in terms of loss of different types of habitat, in particular hard substrate.