European Rewilding Network

Dogger Bank

Rewilding the Dogger Bank Seascape

Joost van Uffelen
Oscar Bos
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Oscar Bos
Oscar Bos
Oscar Bos

Through active and passive restoration and representation of nature, we strive to resuscitate the North Sea’s beating heart: the Dogger Bank and set ambitious standards for other EU MPAs.

We will restore the Dogger Bank as the beating heart of the North Sea by: securing full protection from damaging activities—especially bottom-trawling—through legal action; actively restoring reef-building species, starting with pilot horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) reefs; and strengthening the North Sea’s representation as a living entity in the public, legal and political domain; delivered by a seven-partner transboundary coalition.

We aim to secure full protection from bottom-trawl fishing across all designated and protected parts of the Dogger Bank and reduce other pressures so benthic processes can recover—sediment stability, filtration, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and natural reef formation. This creates the conditions for large-scale passive restoration of a formerly very biodiverse, a key North Sea breeding and nursery-, and year-round productive foraging area.

With strategic litigation in the Netherlands and Germany and a complaint to the European Commission we aim to secure a ban on all active bottom-contacting gear across all designated Dogger Bank MPAs, and to minimize harmful impacts from various industries.

Specification Description Achievements Exchange
Project: Dogger Bank
Region: Dogger Bank, North Sea
Type of protection: EU Habitats Directive, Natura 2000 areas
Keystone species: Horse mussel
Fauna (mega) species present: Harbour porpoise, grey seal, bluefin tuna
Type of project: Creating space for wilder nature, Increasing interest in the wild through communications, Supporting wildlife comeback
Aim and vision: The goal is to resuscitate the Dogger Bank as the beating heart of the North Sea and for this seascape to overspill positive ecosystem impacts beyond and into the wider North Sea. With our school of Dogger Bank we aim to improve representation of ecosystems in decision-making processes and restoration of the connection with the North Sea and ecosystems we depend on, leading to a more biodiverse democracy.
With monitoring, publication of our research and storytelling we will build a community of support, improve compliance and involve the wider public to protect and restore ecosystems that are out of sight. Through a shift in perspectives and largescale rewilding, sustainable co-existence is possible.
Uniqueness of the project: The restoration of the Dogger Bank offers a unique opportunity to set a global precedent for ambitious offshore marine restoration, particularly for other severely degraded marine areas in Europe: its rewilding can showcase the power of both active and passive restoration methods across multiple jurisdictions. The lessons learned from transforming the Dogger Bank into a thriving MPA can be applied to other seascapes, providing a model for restoring biodiversity and increasing climate resilience.
Other activities: Community involved, Education, High-impact communications, Research
Results you aim to accomplish in 10 years from now on: In ten years, the Dogger Bank will be a biodiverse, productive breeding ground and nursery, located in the heart of a healthy, and balanced North Sea with thriving wildlife, restored habitats, restored ecological processes, clean waters, healthy populations, and minimal pollution, resilient to climate change and supporting rich biodiversity.
Results so far: Formalised a seven-organisation international coalition (ARK Rewilding Netherlands, BUND, WWF Denmark, Atlantic Technological University, Blue Marine Foundation, Embassy of the North Sea, Doggerland Foundation).
Put in place governance structures and regular coalition coordination;
Completed the first seascape-vision workshop and mapped relevant authorities;
Researched legal and policy requirements to obtain permits for active restoration of horse mussel reefs;
Conducted Dogger Bank expeditions and surveys to identify candidate restoration areas and documented sensitive species near non-trawled features;
Initiated legal proceedings in the Netherlands and Germany to secure trawl bans;
Launched the interdisciplinary “School of Dogger Bank” for research and imagination: improving the legal, cultural, and political representation of the Dogger Bank.
Inspirational value: On the Dogger Bank we witnessed a barren seascape. But in places where no bottom trawling has occurred, marine life is present and there we found species such as quahog, dead man's fingers, anemones, and ray and shark eggs. Above water we saw grey seals and an abundance of birds: kittiwakes, gannets and puffins. It’s a hopeful glimpse of what nature on a restored Dogger Bank might look like again. A rewilded Dogger Bank will act as a flywheel to restore the wider North Sea.
Experience you would like to share: A model or blueprint to turn “paper parks” into real protection. We can share legal strategies, advocacy tactics and governance lessons from securing closures and enforcement on the Dogger Bank. Our coalition has decades of experience in marine conservation, with various backgrounds and is a broad and eclectic ensemble.
Experience you would like to gain: Access to the Rewilding Europe tools and the network’s community members, sharing lessons learned, inspiration and ideas.
Map
Country
Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, UK
Start year
2025
Size (ha)
1,873,500
Area type
Marine: offshore
Natural process
Natural reef formation
Dogger Bank
Joost van Uffelen
Oscar Bos
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Oscar Bos
Oscar Bos
Oscar Bos

Through active and passive restoration and representation of nature, we strive to resuscitate the North Sea’s beating heart: the Dogger Bank and set ambitious standards for other EU MPAs.

We will restore the Dogger Bank as the beating heart of the North Sea by: securing full protection from damaging activities—especially bottom-trawling—through legal action; actively restoring reef-building species, starting with pilot horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) reefs; and strengthening the North Sea’s representation as a living entity in the public, legal and political domain; delivered by a seven-partner transboundary coalition.

We aim to secure full protection from bottom-trawl fishing across all designated and protected parts of the Dogger Bank and reduce other pressures so benthic processes can recover—sediment stability, filtration, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and natural reef formation. This creates the conditions for large-scale passive restoration of a formerly very biodiverse, a key North Sea breeding and nursery-, and year-round productive foraging area.

With strategic litigation in the Netherlands and Germany and a complaint to the European Commission we aim to secure a ban on all active bottom-contacting gear across all designated Dogger Bank MPAs, and to minimize harmful impacts from various industries.

Map
Country
Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, UK
Start year
2025
Size (ha)
1,873,500
Area type
Marine: offshore
Natural process
Natural reef formation
Specification
Project: Dogger Bank
Region: Dogger Bank, North Sea
Type of protection: EU Habitats Directive, Natura 2000 areas
Keystone species: Horse mussel
Fauna (mega) species present: Harbour porpoise, grey seal, bluefin tuna
Description
Type of project: Creating space for wilder nature, Increasing interest in the wild through communications, Supporting wildlife comeback
Aim and vision: The goal is to resuscitate the Dogger Bank as the beating heart of the North Sea and for this seascape to overspill positive ecosystem impacts beyond and into the wider North Sea. With our school of Dogger Bank we aim to improve representation of ecosystems in decision-making processes and restoration of the connection with the North Sea and ecosystems we depend on, leading to a more biodiverse democracy.
With monitoring, publication of our research and storytelling we will build a community of support, improve compliance and involve the wider public to protect and restore ecosystems that are out of sight. Through a shift in perspectives and largescale rewilding, sustainable co-existence is possible.
Uniqueness of the project: The restoration of the Dogger Bank offers a unique opportunity to set a global precedent for ambitious offshore marine restoration, particularly for other severely degraded marine areas in Europe: its rewilding can showcase the power of both active and passive restoration methods across multiple jurisdictions. The lessons learned from transforming the Dogger Bank into a thriving MPA can be applied to other seascapes, providing a model for restoring biodiversity and increasing climate resilience.
Other activities: Community involved, Education, High-impact communications, Research
Achievements
Results you aim to accomplish in 10 years from now on: In ten years, the Dogger Bank will be a biodiverse, productive breeding ground and nursery, located in the heart of a healthy, and balanced North Sea with thriving wildlife, restored habitats, restored ecological processes, clean waters, healthy populations, and minimal pollution, resilient to climate change and supporting rich biodiversity.
Results so far: Formalised a seven-organisation international coalition (ARK Rewilding Netherlands, BUND, WWF Denmark, Atlantic Technological University, Blue Marine Foundation, Embassy of the North Sea, Doggerland Foundation).
Put in place governance structures and regular coalition coordination;
Completed the first seascape-vision workshop and mapped relevant authorities;
Researched legal and policy requirements to obtain permits for active restoration of horse mussel reefs;
Conducted Dogger Bank expeditions and surveys to identify candidate restoration areas and documented sensitive species near non-trawled features;
Initiated legal proceedings in the Netherlands and Germany to secure trawl bans;
Launched the interdisciplinary “School of Dogger Bank” for research and imagination: improving the legal, cultural, and political representation of the Dogger Bank.
Exchange
Inspirational value: On the Dogger Bank we witnessed a barren seascape. But in places where no bottom trawling has occurred, marine life is present and there we found species such as quahog, dead man's fingers, anemones, and ray and shark eggs. Above water we saw grey seals and an abundance of birds: kittiwakes, gannets and puffins. It’s a hopeful glimpse of what nature on a restored Dogger Bank might look like again. A rewilded Dogger Bank will act as a flywheel to restore the wider North Sea.
Experience you would like to share: A model or blueprint to turn “paper parks” into real protection. We can share legal strategies, advocacy tactics and governance lessons from securing closures and enforcement on the Dogger Bank. Our coalition has decades of experience in marine conservation, with various backgrounds and is a broad and eclectic ensemble.
Experience you would like to gain: Access to the Rewilding Europe tools and the network’s community members, sharing lessons learned, inspiration and ideas.
Dogger Bank
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