News

The Rich North Sea starts with Offshore Test Site

The "Offshore Test Site" of The Rich North Sea consists of various test locations where we try-out our work for wind farms on a small scale. This gives us good insights into what works best at sea and we will soon reap the benefits of this when we start working directly in wind farms in the North Sea.

Pilot project in wind farm Luchterduinen shows promising results

In the Luchterduinen wind farm, the first pilot project of the Rich North Sea commenced in 2018. The aim of the project is to identify the factors influencing the success of nature restoration using oysters and to contribute to a blueprint for the possibilities of nature enhancement in wind farms in the North Sea. In July 2019, a monitoring mission was carried out on this project, on the basis of which a research report was drawn up in collaboration with Wageningen University & Research.

Dutch cultivated flat oysters released into the sea

The Rich North Sea has started cultivating flat oysters together with a group of experts. Flat oysters are hardly found in the Dutch North Sea anymore. Last summer, the breeding line produced the first healthy flat oysters. This winter, 30,000 young oysters, the so-called oyster spat, were released in Zeeland's Voordelta. Erwin Coolen, program director of The Rich North Sea: ‘Growing flat oysters is difficult, so we are extremely pleased that we succeeded. The return of oyster beds to the North Sea is another step forward.’

Options for biodiversity enhancement in offshore wind farms

Commissioned by The Rich North Sea, researchers from Bureau Waardenburg drew up an overview of nature-enhancing measures in wind farms. They mapped out which species are suitable for nature enhancement, the properties of the seabed and the presence of nutrients. By combining these factors, they made an overview of the most promising nature-enhancing measures. They did this for all planned wind farms in the North Sea until 2023.

North Sea Agreement: an important step towards a sustainable future for the North Sea

The negotiating agreement “onderhandelaarsakkoord” for the North Sea has just been presented. This is urgently needed to achieve a balance between nature, energy production and food resources on one of the busiest seas in the world. The nature and environmental organizations* are optimistic that there is now an agreement that offers a negotiated future strategy. The protection of nature and production of sustainable energy is increasing in the North Sea. There will also be more money made available for research and for making the fishing fleet more sustainable.

Cooperation agreement links nature enhancement with wind energy in the North Sea

The Rich North Sea with two designs in final innovation contest

Two participants in the Offshore Wind Innovation Challenge of Offshore Wind Innovators were in the finals on Monday 9th December with their oyster table design for The Rich North Sea. The British ARC Marine and the Dutch Witteveen + Bos gave a dazzling pitch about their designs, but it turned out not to be enough for the win. In the end two other participants, MO4 and Seaqualize, won the innovation contest.

Oyster trial wind farm Luchterduinen

In wind farm Luchterduinen an oyster trial took place in recent months: oyster banks and reef balls have been placed on the seabed. With these 'artificial reefs' we want to gain knowledge about the development of oyster banks within wind farms. The first results show that the design of the cages needs to be adapted.