Danish Marine Strategy
This prominence is attributed to its expansive coastline, which is the 17th longest in the world, alongside a sizeable Exclusive Economic Zone and role as an Arctic power.
[8] The Danish marine strategy delineates the MSFD's 11 ocean descriptors to realize good environmental status (GES), which include combating eutrophication.
In the early 1990s, Denmark positioned itself at the forefront of environmental policy by being the first country in the world to implement an energy action plan with CO2 emission targets.
[15][16] Yet, Denmark's carbon footprint per capita is among the largest in the world and the country has historically struggled to comply with EU regulations on ocean protection.
[20][21] Today, the EU significantly shapes Denmark's environmental strategy, influencing both the legislative framework and implementation of policies related to the marine ecosystem.
[29] It mandates that member states, including Denmark, shall publish their marine strategies, progress reports, and results to ensure public scrutiny and comment.
The assessment identifies fishery and raw material extraction as primary threats to Denmark's seabeds, while pinpointing shipping, offshore wind, oil, and gas activities as the biggest sources to pollutants.
The document details specific conditions and pressures within Danish marine areas, while highlighting the need for more knowledge and better monitoring methods to accurately assess environmental status and guide effective measures.
The Danish Marine Strategy II underscores the importance of collaborative efforts to enhance knowledge acquisition, with coordination occurring at both regional and EU levels.
The solutions to the national challenges shall be found in cooperative frameworks such as OSPAR and HELCOM, as well as the informal EU collaboration surrounding the MSFD, all of which are expected to play a crucial role in the advancement of maritime governance in the forthcoming years.
The largest environmental NGO in Denmark, the Danish Society for Nature Conservation, has publicly expressed its concerns about the strategy, stating that it finds the situation: "extremely worrying, and [...] beyond all criticism".
He points out that the government's measures barely meet the EU's minimum requirements for marine protection and fail to address the necessary reforms in the bottom trawling practices.
[45] He underscores the plan's failure to integrate cumulative effects in designated areas, such as those from wind farms, raw material zones, or fisheries.
Brian Thorsen, director of Danish Aquaculture, has advocated for a balanced approach that weights the economic dependence on a healthy and sustainable marine environment against the perceived impact of the fishing industry on the seabed.
Torp argues that the ocean possesses an invauable worth in its unique natural state, which is crucial because of its intrinsic value, but also for providing resources as sand and fish.
[45] A particularly salient issue that has garnered media and public attention in the context of Denmark's Marine Strategy is the matter of hypoxia in Danish coastal water.
This heightened focus comes in the wake of the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy's latest hypoxia report, which brought the issue to the forefront of environmental concerns.
[53] Participants showed solidarity with affected marine species by holding their breath for 30 seconds, a symbolic act that gained traction on social media with the hastag #Danmarkholdervejret, amplifying the call for urgent environmental measures.
[57] The Danish Think Tank, Ocean Institute, concurs and adds that nitrogen discharge is to blame for the hypoxia levels and significant risk to marine ecosystems.
[58] Concurrently, Rigsrevisionen (The National Audit Office) has leveled criticism at the governmental oversight of marine health, noting a discrepancy with the EUs 2027 goals in the Water Framework Directive.
