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Practical Information & Resources
Important steps
Safety comes first and foremost in nature enhancement projects: for people, for our environments, and the species living in these areas. This includes permits requirements, special training and certificates, and health and safety checks. Insurances are also essential. To ensure that you’re following standard guidelines, make sure to check Dutch and international legislation for nature enhancements in the North Sea area.
Dutch legislation
As of 2024 most laws relating to the marine area have been added to the Environment and Planning Act (“Omgevingswet”). Read more about this act and activities on the North Sea here.
When working with living organisms (catch or release), please consider the Fisheries Act.
For working with oysters from hatcheries, please be aware of required EU-regulated certification. Read more about this here (Dutch-only version).
International legislation
When working in the North Sea area, consider these key frameworks and conventions.
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR)
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- European Union Directives: Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Birds Directive, Habitats Directive and Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA).
Insurance
Insurance is crucial for activities such as the deployment of marine species and shells, and the use of monitoring frames and vessels near offshore assets.
Download our step-by-step guide that will help you prepare for your meeting with an insurance broker.
Training & certificates
To enter an offshore windfarm, employees and visitors must have specific training and certificates which may include:
- Safety at sea
- First aid
- Fire awareness
- Manual handling
- Working at heights
Training generally needs to adhere to specific standards such as OPITO, NOGEPA, STCW, or GWO. In many cases, a medical approval is also needed. Operators might also require a wind farm specific induction or training. Please contact the wind farm operator to learn which certificates you need.
Suppliers and solutions
Every nature enhancement project requires unique supplies and services. This can include live broodstock, monitoring devices and services, as well as suitable ships for installation and monitoring. The following resources will help you to explore and evaluate suppliers for your project.
Ships
Having the right vessel is essential to your project, whether you’ve secured a dedicated ship or are sharing a voyage to save on costs.
Download our guide to navigate the process, from comparing vessels to meeting specific requirements.
Flat oysters
Many nature enhancement efforts focus on restoring the population of European flat oysters, a near-extinct species in many areas. By using hatcheries, the few wild populations may be spared. This guide will help you to locate hatcheries suitable for your project.
Please also see this report containing guidelines that can help hatcheries in obtaining a Bonamia-free status (in Dutch).
Monitoring services
Monitoring is crucial for every project. We are currently working on a guide to help you learn about monitoring methods, and North Sea organisations that can help you. Stay tuned!
Nature enhancements
Need inspiration for suppliers of nature enhancement products? Head to our nature enhancement product catalogue to discover the possibilities.
Useful links
Are you in need of more technical details or raw data to inform your project? Instead of starting from scratch in a search engine, you can browse through the links below for additional information on marine databases in the North Sea, maps and GIS data, and science and research.
Marine databases
Nature enhancement projects can only succeed when they are tailor-made to the local circumstances. Data on species, habitats, and the potential of each can have a profound impact on your project. With these resources, you can discover more on monitoring data as well as modelling data on species, habitats, and other relevant parameters.Maps
If you’re looking for visualizations of species distributions, marine spatial planning, and more parameters with maps that include GIS or downloadable data, start with these links.You can also find marine nature enhancement projects in our interactive map.