The Living North Sea project solved problems surrounding the management of fish species, which relied on moving between the North Sea and freshwater systems of partner countries. These species were under considerable threat, some even in hazardous decline.

Living North Sea brought together representatives from across the North Sea Region in a project that would make long lasting changes to the way that migratory fish species, whose stocks were shared between nations, were managed in the region. The project created a permanent management group for migratory fish of these habitats, which would continue to work collaboratively, but also tackle decision making processes ensuring project results could be integrated in future policies on the national and EU level.

Aim
To use Sustainable Coastal Zone Management techniques for key migratory species of the North Sea countries, share existing knowledge between countries and sectors and on populations and migratory routes to identify the essential gaps in knowledge that must be answered.

LNS prioritised geographical locations for work across the North Sea countries based on potential abundance and important habitats and zones for particular species. The project created a permanent management group for migratory fish of these habitats, which would continue to work collaboratively and tackle the decision making processes to ensure that the results of the Living North Sea project were firmly integrated into future national and European policies.

Background
The Living North Sea project was constructed to solve the problems surrounding the management of fish species, which rely on moving between the North Sea and freshwater systems of partner countries. This was of particular importance where in some countries, authorities were spending vast sums of money artificially propagating fish, when the real solution, might be in marine, or even the waters of another country. A second problem related to the continued threat for migratory fish in fresh water ecosystems and included artificial barriers, pollution and habitat loss.

• 19 demonstration sites for solutions to fish passage at man-made barriers
• Management plan for sea trout in the North Sea Region
• Genetic baseline for identifying significant shared populations & identifying the home rivers of fish at sea
• Tools and collaborative processes for tracking fish at sea and identifying critical areas for marine spatial planning
• Best practice manuals, expert advice and management group for fish migration issues
• ICES working groups contributing to EU policy
• WebGIS mapping tools for sharing fish migration barrier data & prioritising mitigation
• Fish Migration Day – a long lasting public event