DThe state government of Schleswig-Holstein wants to protect the Baltic Sea more. To this end, among other things, new nature reserves should be established, regulations in existing protected areas should be tightened and the input of nutrients and pollutants should be reduced. Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) and State Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) announced this on Tuesday. The cabinet in Kiel had previously decided on the “Baltic Sea Protection Action Plan 2030”.

This provides for the establishment of three new maritime nature reserves in which strict rules should apply. The protection zones should be located in the areas of Schlei to Gelting, the Hohwacht Bay and west of Fehmarn. In addition, the three existing Natura 2000 protected areas are to receive stricter protection status. According to the state government, 12.5 percent of Schleswig-Holstein's Baltic Sea is strictly protected. This means that there is a fishing ban, speed restrictions for motorized vehicles, some restrictions on water sports and a ban on anchoring over seagrass meadows.

Furthermore, nutrient inputs from agriculture should be significantly reduced. They are expected to fall by ten percent by 2030 and by another ten percent by 2035. For this purpose, target agreements should be concluded with agriculture. In addition, nutrients should be retained by restoring wet meadows and floodplains. Additional reefs are also to be created throughout the Schleswig-Holstein marine area, seagrass meadows and mussel beds are to be created and coastal lagoons are to be restored. Industrial fishing will be banned throughout the country's waters.

“Dead zones” in entire bays

According to researchers, the Baltic Sea is in a catastrophic condition. Accordingly, important fish species are threatened with existence; Oxygen-poor coastal areas and oxygen-free “dead zones” in deeper waters are becoming more and more widespread – entire bays such as the Flensburg Fjord are now considered to be as good as dead. Algae growth continues unabated because the nutrient input from agriculture is still high. Seagrass meadows have largely disappeared, while climate change is causing water temperatures to rise, which many species cannot cope with.

There has been a long-standing debate in Schleswig-Holstein about better protection of the sea. In the fall, Prime Minister Günther dropped the plan for a “Baltic Sea National Park”. This would have covered almost the entire coast. The Greens had campaigned for this in the state election campaign, but there was strong resistance to it among fishermen, water sports enthusiasts, residents and, not least, the CDU base. The national park would have been around 160,000 hectares in size. The now planned areas with strong protection cover around 39,000 hectares.

Prime Minister Günther spoke of a “good day for the Baltic Sea”. The interests of business and tourism were taken into account. Günther promised fishermen compensation. He assured water sports enthusiasts that there were “almost no restrictions at all” for them. Environment Minister Goldschmidt spoke of the “biggest step” that Baltic Sea protection had ever taken in Schleswig-Holstein. An eighth of the country's Baltic Sea areas are now strictly protected. The opposition FDP said that the worst fears had not come true, but that the action plan should not “open the door to a later national park”.