Baltic Sea National Park: Petition launched in favour of preserving the Baltic Sea spots

Tobias Goldschmidt, Minister of the Environment in Schleswig-Holstein, has presented initial plans for a "Baltic Sea National Park" as early as 2022. It is intended to connect the various nature and bird sanctuaries on the Baltic Sea and at the same time "deepen their protection", as the Green politician says - so that the Baltic Sea "will be better again in the future". This could result in massive restrictions for water sports. In total, an area of up to 140,000 hectares along the coast is at stake. However, it is still unclear which areas will actually become part of the national park. However, Goldschmidt is calling for "large protected areas". He stated: "If it becomes too small-scale, a national park makes little sense."

Goldschmidt's announcement is causing quite a stir on the Baltic coast. An intensive and open-ended consultation process with the stakeholders concerned is now to take place in spring," explains a ministry spokesperson. This will also include a discussion on which regulations should apply to water sports on the Baltic Sea in future. Until then, the ministry will not be answering any questions for the time being: they do not want to "pre-empt" the debates. More details will therefore only become known after the meeting on 21 March.

National park: 50 per cent area without use

It is clear that there should be so-called zero-use zones in which water sports, shipping and fishing would be taboo. In a national park, at least 50 per cent of the area would have to be left to nature - similar to the Wadden Sea National Park, which is around 300,000 hectares larger than the potential on the Baltic Sea. The ministry hopes that the new national park will provide "a real boost in attractiveness" for the Baltic Sea coast and "enormous opportunities for tourism and the economy", as Goldschmidt told the Schleswig-Holstein newspaper publisher.

The Jasmund National Park in the north-east of the island of Rügen, which belongs to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, already exists today. It covers around 3,000 hectares, making it Germany's smallest national park. It consists of 20 per cent water areas and offers harbour porpoises and grey seals a retreat. Sailing and surfing are prohibited here in a 500 metre wide shore zone.

Water sports industry fears restrictions

While fishermen, hoteliers and sailors have a lobby behind them that fights for their interests, there is concern among water sports enthusiasts that the justified demands of surfers are being ignored. To prevent this, a petition has now been launched to fight for the preservation of the spots. This is expressly not about positioning oneself against the planned Baltic Sea National Park. Rather, the aim is to ensure that the interests of the surfing community are also recognised in politics and that decisions are not one-sided.

We therefore ask all water sports enthusiasts for their support! Sign the petition and share them via your social media channels.

We will keep you up to date on all developments!

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