Mussel reef
Jose M Farinas-Franco
The Rewilding Dogger Bank program, led by the organization that works to protect and restore the North Sea, Stichting Doggerland, has received a conditional funding commitment from the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Program to restore nature at the conservation area of the Dogger Bank.
"The Dogger Bank is an important feeding and breeding ground in the North Sea that needs to be restored and protected. Thanks to the funding, we finally have the opportunity to intensify our efforts and reintroduce extinct species and habitats into the Dogger Bank," explained Emilie Reuchlin, Director of Doggerland.
This initiative, which will begin in the second half of 2025 and last for about three years, involves collaboration from ATU – Atlantic Technological University in Ireland, Blue Marine Foundation in the UK, BUND in Germany, WWF in Denmark, and ARK Rewilding Netherlands, the North Sea Embassy, and Stichting Doggerland in the Netherlands.
Finally, the Director of The North Sea Embassy Thijs Middeldorp advanced: "To figure out how we can achieve this, we are organizing a research and imagination program called 'Dogger Bank School.' With this school, we provide a free space and a learning community that works on diverse research, actions, and designs. We will collaborate with various societal, cultural, and knowledge institutions to jointly advance the democratic debate on the North Sea and the Dogger Bank."
One of the main tasks of this program will be the development of mussel reefs, where ARK Rewilding Netherlands will be of great help due to its experience in fishing in seawater.
The reefs will have cracks, crevices, and hiding spots, perfect for different species to live, hide, lay eggs, and feed. Regarding thit, Roos Bol, project leader at ARK noted: "The horse mussel is native to the Dogger Bank and fits perfectly into this ecosystem."