Socioeconomics of the OSPAR Maritime Area

The economic and social analysis is based on statistical data used by EU Member States who are Contracting Parties in their marine status assessments under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in 2018. Also the non-EU country Norway provided the necessary information[1] .  For the data collection and regional analysis, Contracting Parties agreed to use as far as possible the internationally agreed nomenclature of economic activities NACE (Nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la Communauté Européenne), an EU-wide classification scheme to define sectors for the collection of statistical data[2] .  Despite these arrangements, the collected national data are not fully comparable. One important difference relates to the level of detail at which the economic sector and its sub-activities were reported. Another important difference relates to the scale of the reported indicators: Some countries reported national data, others focused on the national part of the regional sea. This means that the results reported by the countries should be considered with great care and should not be used to derive an aggregated number for the entire OSPAR region. However, they are the best available data, and if in the future this analysis is repeated in the same way, these data can be used to present economic trends.

In general, the data presented refer to the OSPAR area. However, for some countries the numbers present the data on national level, since for them it was impossible to make a detailed distinction between for example fresh water activities and marine activities.

In addition, a series of maps describe the spatial distribution and intensity of the selected uses based on existing OSPAR data streams, and other sources where necessary and as identified. The spatial presentation of the activities helps identify ‘hotspots’ of certain economic activities, which can be linked to potential environmental pressures.

[1] The data on gross value added in the various tables are presented in euros. For Norway and UK both the euro figures and (between brackets) the original values are presented. For the conversion from orginal data to euros, the Eurostat exchange rates for annual data were used: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do

[2] Note that the data provided by statistical offices refer to the economic value that the various economic sectors contribute to the national numbers of the respective country. As a consequence, the economic data cover only the firms that have the nationality of the Parties and not the total economic value obtained by the exploitation in each EEZ's Party. Therefore, the numbers presented in the tables are an underestimate of the total value of all activities taking place.

Fisheries and aquaculture

The fisheries’ sector is understood to include fishing (NACE Code 03.1) and aquaculture (NACE Code 03.2), excluding fish processing industries.

Fisheries operate across the entire OSPAR Maritime Area.  The fisheries’ sector data are collated and managed at EU level (ICES, DG-MARE and other relevant parties). As a consequence the data presented below should be considered as indicative only.

Figure 1 illustrates seabed abrasion due to demersal fisheries, as an example of the spatial extent of this activity. Figure 1 does not include pelagic fisheries, as a fishing intensity map was not available for the whole OSPAR Maritime Area, which would show a different spatial pattern.

In most OSPAR countries, future developments in the fisheries sector are largely dependent on the European Common Fisheries Policies and associated future catch quota, as well as on the development of fuel prices. The most important environmental impacts of this economic sector are the removal of target species, by-catch of non-target species including water birds and marine mammals, as well as impacts on the seabed.

Aquaculture is not significant on a national scale for most OSPAR countries. The locations of shellfish cultures, finfish farms and general aquaculture sites (Figure 2) highlight the differences in their distribution across the OSPAR Maritime Area. Most finfish aquaculture occurs in Norway, Scotland and Ireland, whereas aquaculture for shellfish is more widespread.

[3]Belgian fishing territory: North Sea, English Channel, Bay of Biscay, Western Waters, Celtic and Irish Sea

[4]The numbers on gross added value only covers fisheries. Aquaculture and marine aquaculture are not included in the Danish description for the OSPAR area.

[5]In Dutch report Value added of 48 mln is mentioned, which is in 2010 prices

Shipping

Shipping is understood as maritime transport including sea and coastal passenger water transport (NACE Code 05.1) and sea and coastal freight water transport, excluding inland transport (NACE Code 05.2).

Shipping takes place throughout the OSPAR Maritime Area, although the highest densities of ship traffic are found in the English Channel and the southern North Sea, where the majority of Europe’s largest ports are located (Figures 3 and 4), and at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. There is also support traffic for offshore oil and gas platforms in the North Sea as well as for new wind farm developments in the North Sea.

Most OSPAR countries expect an increase of ship transport and shipping. However, due to the application of more sustainable practices (for instance marine planning and wider regulatory mechanisms) emissions per ship will probably reduce, and therefore, the environmental impacts caused by this economic sector are not expected to grow proportionally with the economic developments in this sector.

[6]No NACE
[7]In Dutch report 1,790 is mentioned, which is in 2010 prices
[8]In national account, shipping aggregates are not directly comparable to NACE definitions.

Ports

The sector ‘ports’ is understood to cover manufacturing (building ships and boats; NACE Code 30.1), wholesale trade (other specialized wholesale; NACE Code 46.7), construction (civil engineering, construction of buildings excluded; NACE Code 42) and transportation and storage (warehousing for transportation; NACE Code 52.1).

Major ports are widely distributed along the OSPAR coasts (Figure 4). They provide a wide range of support services including shipbuilding and maintenance.

Activities in ports can be expected to be depending on the developments in the shipping sector. The shipping sector is expected to increase in most of the OSPAR area. Therefore, activities in ports (such as cargo handling (e.g. wholesale trade), ship building, ship maintenance, etc) are expected to increase as well.

[9]NACE 30.1 and NACE 42
[10]SNI: 52.22, 52.24, 52.29 (partly)

Oil and gas industry

The oil and gas sector encompasses the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas (NACE Codes 06.1, 06.2), excluding.

[11]No NACE

[12]In Dutch report 3,473 is mentioned, which is in 2010 prices

Offshore oil and gas exploration and exploitation takes place in waters of few OSPAR Contracting Parties, with the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark having the majority of offshore installations (Figure 5). For other Contracting Parties, the number of offshore installations is relatively small or non-existent.

In the Netherlands and Denmark offshore oil and gas exploitation is expected to decline in the next decades, whereas a slight increase is expected from the United Kingdom. In Germany, the future development of this sector depends on the results of ongoing exploration activities.

A wide range of programmes and measures are in place to reduce pollution from all phases of offshore oil and gas activities including meausres to prevent oil spills. There are also measures in place with respect to decommissioning of disused offshore oil and gas installations. The expected reduction in oil and gas exploitation means that decommissioning of disused offshore oil and gas installations is expected to increase in the future.

Offshore renewable energy

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the amount of renewable energy development in the OSPAR Maritime Area, especially in terms of wind farms, although this has mostly been focused in the Greater North Sea and Celtic seas. There are also plans for further development. These plans in the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark contribute to the EU target of renewable energy, aiming for 20% of electricity demand to be met by renewable energy sources. There are also many areas that have been reserved for further offshore renewable energy development, indicating that this sector is likely to grow in importance in the coming years (Figure 6).

A significant expansion of the production of offshore wind energy is expected over the next decades, with an increasing number of offshore wind farms being built and planned at locations at increasing distances from the coast. This applies to most of the OSPAR area. This means that many wind farms are likely to be built. The building of wind farms often results in inputs of underwater noise due to pile driving/drilling. It is therefore likely that the expected increase of offshore wind energy will result in increased environmental pressures for the years to come.

[13]Many projects but not in exploitation phase. Activity that will be developed in the coming years.
[14]In Dutch report 39 mln is mentioned, which is in 2010 prices