The North Sea

The origin of the name the North Sea is either German‹die Nordsee‹or Dutch ‘de Noordzee’ and it means ‘the sea to the north’. The North Sea covers 572,000 square kilometres and it is surrounded by Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland. The North Sea is divided into fishing zones that are controlled by these countries. But since the majority of the countries are EU members, EU fishing regulations apply in the region.

The North Sea is between 50 and 100 metres deep, and is characterized by strong westerly winds and strong tides. Because of the shallow waters and the low-lying coastlines in Holland, Northern Germany, England, and Denmark, strong gales have caused many shipwrecks and many casualties. The North Sea has also 'eaten up' parts of the coastlines and the Danish west coast, for example, is gradually moving eastwards.

There are many stories about dangerous voyages across the North Sea. Danish Vikings crossed the North Sea to plunder England in 793, and around the same time, Norwegian Vikings sailed across the northern part of the North Sea to Ireland. The Channel, which forms the southern connection to the Atlantic Ocean, is perhaps the most dangerous part of the North Sea. Today England and France are linked by the ‘Chunnel’, the name of which is formed from the words Channel and tunnel.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, Dutch and Flemish merchants sailed north to trade with Bergen, and also travelled around the northern tip of Jutland to trade and fish in the Øresund region. These routes through the North Sea carried most of the traffic between Scandinavia and western Europe (later, canals opened up new routes). The Netherlands were located at the center of all this traffic, and this led to increased Dutch influence in Northern Europe, both in art and culture and in the labour market of that time. Many Scandinavians therefore found work in the Netherlands and Flanders, while many Flemish artists and craftsmen came to Scandinavia and left their marks on local building traditions. During the 18th century, England came to control the North Sea. This was partly because England produced more goods than any other European country at that time.

The north-south and east-west trade links have always been vital to the populations on all sides of the North Sea, but the transportation of goods and people has decreased substantially and has been replaced by air and railroad transportation. On the other hand, the rich North Sea fishing grounds and the relatively large oil and gas reserves have become increasingly important. As early as the 1950s, the Dutch found large gas fields on their North Sea coast and since the 1960s, Norway, Britain, and Denmark have found both oil and gas in their North Sea sectors. Although none of the oil and gas fields are very large, they are sufficient for the needs of the North Sea countries.

Fishing has been of the utmost importance to the North Sea coast populations for thousands of years. Some of the most common North Sea fish are herring, mackerel, cod, and plaice, but rarer fish like sole, turbot, haddock, lobster, and deep-sea shrimp are also of great economic importance to North Sea fishermen.

Overfishing (the taking of so many fish that fish populations are reduced) is a problem for the fishing industry in the North Sea. Therefore, quotas have been introduced, but they are hotly debated. Negotiations on cod overfishing, for instance, have been very difficult indeed for the EU.

Another problem that the EU and the North Sea countries have had to address during the last century is the increasing level of pollution in the sea. Governmental regulation has improved the situation, but careful supervision by the surrounding countries is still needed to combat further pollution of the sea.

Source: Den store danske encyklopædi, Gyldendal, 2000