Degrendele, K.

Roche, M.

Schotte, P.

Vandenreyken, H.

Open Marine Archive

Abstracts
118
Theme 3: Sustainability: one for all, all for one? 
Degrendele Koen
FPS Economy - Continental Shelf
Author(s): Koen Degrendele, Marc Roche, Patrik Schotte and Helga Vandenreyken
Affiliation(s): FPS Economy, S.M.E.s, Self-Employed and Energy, Directorate-General Quality 
and Safety, Continental Shelf, Belgium
What is the role of the economy in marine management, i.c. sand 
extraction?
The extraction on the Belgian part of the North Sea is an example of a well-organized, closely monitored and intensely studied activity. The Continental Shelf Department is responsible for the management and organization of the licenses, and monitors the activities from all 
extraction vessels with a electronic monitoring system, organized by BMM Oostende. The ecological impact on the benthos is studied by ILVO since many years and the impact of the overall sand extraction on the seabed is monitored by the Continental Shelf department 
with multibeam echosounders since 1999. The long time series of detailed terrain models have revealed and established the non-sustainable character, the linear relation between the 
extracted volumes and the change in topography, and the local impact on the seafloor. Up to now, the national legislation limits the extraction to an arbitrary depth of 5 meters under 
the seabed model defined in 2005. The department is currently defining a new reference surface, based on the nature of the seabed, the geological structure and marine ecology. This new surface aims to further limit the negative impact of the extraction on the marine 
ecosystem. But, with the growing ecological constraints (Marine protected areas – MSFD), 
the future of the aggregate extraction on the Belgian part of the North Sea seems very unsure. Since more than a decade, the available volume of sand is rapidly decreasing, much more due to environmental regulation and pressure from other users of the marine space, than the extraction itself. This trend greatly limits the prospects of this economic sector. To secure a limited available resource in the future, a more balanced management policy is required that takes in consideration the economic and social importance of the sector.
Keywords: Sand extraction, management, monitoring


What is the role of the economy in marine management, i.c. sand extraction?

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