Author: Kelle Moreau

From 1 July to 31 August 2019, the summer exhibition ‘Kijk, een walvis (Look, a whale)’ will take place in the community centre ‘t Schelpestik in De Haan (Vosseslag 131, 8420 De Haan). The local stranding of the whale Antonius in October 2018 triggered the initiative, and several skeletal parts of this impressive animal have since returned to De Haan to form the backbone of the exhibition. The municipality of De Haan also spared no effort in addressing various experts and collections to bring together a unique collection of marine mammal bones and whale-related items. The exhibition can be visited daily between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. during this period, and admission is free. A tip for the summer months!

Antonius

On 24 October 2018, the carcass of a Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus was spotted in the Belgian part of the North Sea. Because it floated in a busy shipping lane, it was decided to bring it ashore in a controlled manner. On 25 October, around 2 a.m. at night, the carcass arrived on the beach of Vosseslag, De Haan. Within one day the animal was completely disposed of. Action had to be quick as a spring tide was approaching. “It was a fantastic experience to witness the perfect cooperation between many government agencies, at every level of government, and scientific institutions, resulting in a thorough scientific investigation and a quick and efficient removal of the remains,” says Jan Haelters, coordinator of the Belgian stranding network and marine biologist at the RBINS, with justified pride.

The autopsy, carried out by veterinarians and students of the universities of Ghent and Liège and biologists of the RBINS, showed that the almost mature male, 18 m long and weighing about 30,000 kg, had probably died a natural death. “I immediately saw the potential of this event and asked the city council for permission to have parts of the skeleton prepared.” Wilfied Vandaele, mayor of De Haan, announces. This permission was granted, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Ghent prepared not only the mandibles but also a pectoral fin and a vertebra of the whale, which in the meantime had been baptised Antonius.

Marine Mammals in De Haan

Fin Whale Antonius obviously is the eye-catcher of the exhibition, but this was not the first unfortunate marine mammal that ended up on a beach in De Haan. “Parts of a number of rare specimens that washed ashore in this municipality in the past have also been prepared and are now part of the RBINS collection.” explains Olivier Pauwels, curator of the RBINS vertebrate collection. Mayor Vandaele adds: “We were given some skeletons and remains of marine mammals on loan, such as the skull of a young Killer whale Orcinus orca that beached in 1843. These items are used in the second part of the exhibition to illustrate the life and problems of marine mammals.”

Furthermore, two skulls of Sowerby’s beaked whales Mesoplodon bidens (mother with juvenile, washed ashore in 1933 in Harendijke in the district of Wenduine) and one of a Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala melas (washed ashore in 1995 in De Haan) found their way from Brussels to the summer exhibition. And because the district of Wenduine has a special relationship with the Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena (the species appears in Wenduine’s coat of arms), a porpoise skull has also been added to the collection lent out by the RBINS. “Thanks to Fin whale Antonius and the animals that beached in De Haan previously, and thanks to the cooperation with the municipality of De Haan, we have the opportunity to connect two major pillars of our institute – research and collection – and to put them in the spotlight together!” explains Kelle Moreau, marine biologist and spokesman for the RBINS.

Extra information and activities

Finally, the De Haan staff also visited the Dutch nature centre Ecomare on Texel. Some dolphin skeletons were borrowed here, as well as a series of historical utensils related to whaling. In the margin of the exhibition, also a number of other activities have been set up. For example, there are a cycling and hiking tour and creative workshops for children.

The unique combination of the story (and parts) of Antonius and various other biological and historical stories, told by means of rare artefacts, elaborated on clear information panels and extended with additional activities, render ‘Kijk, een walvis’ an exhibition that is definitely worth a visit! Highly recommended for young and old, and a valuable tip for the summer months!

…or as close as you can get to Africa in Brussels. On Friday 14 June, the MUMM team of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) visited the renovated AfricaMuseum in Tervuren as part of their annual team building.MUMM stands for ‘Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea’ and brings together the RBINS scientists who advise the government in relation to human activities in the Belgian part of the North Sea (the MARIMA team), perform aerial surveillance (the SURV team, additionally the OO-MMM pilots were also invited) and also carry out the federal monitoring of marine mammals at sea, coordinate the stranding network, study eutrophication and report to Europe on the state of health of our part of the North Sea. The development and maintenance of scientific websites and applications of the Operational Directorate Natural Environment (OD Nature, the largest scientific directorate within RBINS) is also carried out by MUMM specialists (the SWAP team). A large and diverse team, which was redivided several times in different ways during the team building day to bring employees with different tasks/mother tongues together!For their visit to the AfricaMuseum, the mummies opted for the guided tour ‘A blend of Central Africa’, in which they were provided information on the material culture, immaterial heritage and biodiversity of Central Africa for two hours. Of course, Belgian colonial history could not be overlooked either, and how we can deal with it in the current context. Contemporary themes such as the multicultural society and sustainable development completed the story. Some also ventured into a few African dance steps.After an interesting visit to the museum and a walk in perfect weather conditions, we made our appearance for lunch in the Tervurian restaurant ‘De Linde’, where we enjoyed the June edition of the market menu. The succession of very tasty appetizers, starters, main courses and desserts, accompanied by aperitifs and adapted wines (optional, of course), made us leave the restaurant satisfied.Producing a group photo was just about the only thing we were able to do afterwards. Out of sheer necessity, we then went to a nearby terrace to recover from the feast.

When you work hard, you occasionally also have to relax hard!Top, from left to right: Ronny Schallier, Yolande Maes, Karien De Cauwer, Alexander Vermeire, Jan Haelters, Brigitte Lauwaert, Mia Devolder, Abdel Eslama, Geert Present, Kelle Moreau / Below, from left to right: Samuël Orsi, Lucien Schwind, Nabil Youdjou, Annelore Van Nieuwenhove, Ruth Lagring, Dries Noppen, Ward Van Roy, Kobe Scheldeman, Michel Kapel, Pieter Janssens

Scientists from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) summarised the available information on marine mammals in Belgium in 2018 in the new edition of the dedicated report series. The latest edition includes an overview of the strandings and sightings of marine mammals, remarkable fish and a leatherback turtle in 2018, as well as opinion pieces about the sense and nonsense of taking seals into care, the impact of waste on marine mammals and the use of the port of Nieuwpoort as a resting place for seals.

As every year, RBINS has collected data on marine mammals in Belgium. For 2018, this happened with the cooperation of SEALIFE Blankenberge, the University of Liège and Natuurpunt. In 2018, 134 marine mammals washed ashore dead or dying in Belgium, concerning 89 harbour porpoises, 1 white-beaked dolphin, 1 fin whale, 18 grey seals, 11 harbour seals and 14 seals that were not identified to species. In addition, SEALIFE Blankenberge took 30 seals into care: 17 grey and 13 harbour seals (the highest number of grey seals ever, and for the first time more grey than common seals).

Ten percent of the harbour porpoises for which the cause of death could be established had died from drowning in fishing nets, and 30% from predation by grey seals. The fin whale, an 18-metre-long male found dead at sea, presumably died from a natural cause. The number of stranded dead and dying seals (43) was the highest number ever. Six of the grey and one of the harbour seals were believed to have died from incidental capture. One grey seal died entangled in a piece of nylon rope, and another choked on a flatfish.

The most striking sightings in 2018 concerned very high numbers of harbour porpoises in April (estimated at almost 20,000 in the Belgian waters, based on aerial counts) and the relatively frequent occurrence of bottlenose dolphins.

The annual report also contains editorials about the sense and nonsense of taking seals into care, the impact of waste on marine mammals and the use of the port of Nieuwpoort as a resting place for seals.

Interested readers can download the report, as well as previous reports, at www.marinemammals.be/reports (available in Dutch and French, with English summary).

On February 19, the international conference “Climate change and ocean conservation” took place on the initiative of the Belgian ministers of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development and of the North Sea. The Declaration was very well received at the conference, and continues to receive support. 33 countries and 11 organisations have already signed the Declaration.

The Brussels Declaration calls for progress in several ongoing processes, in particular those regarding the negotiation of a new Convention on high seas biodiversity and the definition of new objectives for the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Declaration also has the great merit of bringing together the many existing commitments on oceans and climate in a single document that countries can sign up to, and calls for an appropriate reaction to the UN Climate Commission’s Oceans Report, which will be published in September 2019.

The Declaration was signed by countries and by organisations

Many countries support the Declaration: European countries but also countries from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and many islands. Chile, where the next Climate COP (COP 25 or “the Blue COP” as the Chilean Minister for the Environment calls it) will take place in December 2019, has committed itself to promoting the objectives of the Declaration during this conference. The following countries, among others, have signed the Declaration: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Norway, Iceland, Monaco, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Cape Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Tajikistan, Dominican Republic, Commonwealth of Dominica, Marshall Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines…

Several international organisations have also signed the text, such as: EIB (European Investment Bank), Future Ocean Alliance (an independent organisation financed by the Global Environment Facility – the world’s largest donor for environmental improvement projects), Wind Europe, Ocean Energy Europe, Ocean Care, Air Centre, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Global Ocean Trust, RBSA (Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association), VLIZ (Flemish Institute of the Sea), RBINS (Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences).

During an event organised by the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the United Nations in New York in early April, the Belgian ambassador invited countries to join this growing group. The new signatories were invited by Ministers Marghem and De Backer to a second signing ceremony on May 7 at the FPS Public Health.

“Unfortunately, the state of biodiversity has become extremely alarming. With the Brussels Declaration, the federal government wants to commit itself, together with the ministers, ambassadors and representatives of 33 countries and several organisations, to tackling the impact of climate change on the oceans. I call on other countries to join us in order to strengthen our action at European and international level”, declared Marie Christine Marghem.

And in practice?

Belgium is already working hard to put the Declaration into practice. Recently, Belgian and European climate and ocean negotiators met to see how they can include the oceans in the concrete objectives of the next climate COP. Belgium, together with other countries, is also one of the driving forces of the “Friends of the Blue COP” group. 2019 will be a decisive year, as the ‘blue’ COP at the end of the year is a unique opportunity to take climate measures to protect the oceans.

More concretely, Minister De Backer announced on May 7 that Belgium officially supports the 30×30 initiative, a call for action to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030. Belgium has already protected more than 35% of the Belgian part of the North Sea, but to really protect the oceans against climate change, we need to establish a vast network of marine protected areas. Belgium will promote this objective in all policy processes on climate, oceans and biodiversity.

“Only through international cooperation will we be able to halt climate change and its adverse effects on our seas and oceans. Everyone must make an effort. That is why I am signing the international commitment to protect 30 percent of our oceans by 2030. However, Belgium is even more ambitious than that, and already protects 35 percent of its part of the North Sea. Together we can keep our seas and oceans clean”, concluded Minister Philippe De Backer.

Text: FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a new report in Geneva on 7 May 2019 examining the views of various stakeholders on the sustainability challenges of sand extraction and use. With this report, UNEP aims to stimulate a global debate on sand extraction, following the recent adoption of a new resolution on better governance of mineral resources by the 4th UN Environment Assembly.

Sustainability Challenges of the Global Extraction and Use of Sand Resources

The scale of sand and gravel extraction worldwide makes it one of the major sustainability challenges of the 21st century. An estimated 40 to 50 billion tonnes of sand is extracted annually from quarries and wells, in rivers, along coasts and in the marine environment. The growing world population, urbanisation, shifts in our consumption patterns, and the associated development of infrastructure, are important factors that have tripled the extraction of easily available sand resources over the past two decades. Without sand, there is no concrete, no asphalt, no glass, … and therefore no schools, hospitals, roads, solar panels or other necessary infrastructure. Water purification and land reclamation are also major users. Sand is even used in the industrial production of electronics and cosmetics … After water, it is nowadays the most reclaimed natural resource. Furthermore, dams and extraction have reduced the sediment supply from rivers to many coastal areas, leading to reduced deposits in river deltas and accelerated beach erosion.

The growing trend of unsustainable and illegal sand extraction in marine, coastal and freshwater ecosystems has far-reaching environmental, social and economic consequences (e.g. tourism, fisheries). However, scientific research and monitoring, as well as adequate policies to support responsible extraction and consumption, are lagging behind in many parts of the world. In the meantime, international trade in sand and gravel continues to grow. Due to the high demand in regions without local sand and gravel stocks, this business activity is expected to increase by 5.5% per year. As a result of international sand extraction bans, sand extraction for land reclamation projects, and the effects of unregulated sand extraction in international rivers, sand and gravel extraction has also become a rapidly growing transboundary issue.

 

New Solutions for Better Governance of Global Sand Reserves

The United Nations Environment Programme recognizes the need to reconcile global policies and standards with local sand availability, development needs and enforcement realities, and is committed to highlighting these challenges in order to improve governance, together with all stakeholders. The organisation therefore looks forward to the further development of effective tools that will enable better monitoring of the extraction and use of sand resources and efficient decision making in relation to the mitigation of the consequences of sand extraction.

The new report ‘Sand and Sustainability: Finding New Solutions for Environmental Governance of Global Sand Resources’ is based on this theme. It draws attention to the sustainability challenges and solutions for sand extraction and consumption, and recommends joint actions to update existing standards, set up monitoring programmes and initiate a dialogue throughout the value chain. In addition, it calls for the avoidance of unnecessary sand consumption, the use of more recycled and alternative materials, and the reduction of environmental impacts through more responsible mining practices. The report was produced in October 2018 during an expert dialogue facilitated by UNEP/GRID-Geneva (GRID = Global Resource Information Database) and the University of Geneva with funding from the Swiss Federal Ministry of Environment.

UN Resolution on Better Governance of Mineral Resources

The ‘Sand and Sustainability’ report follows the recent adoption (April 2019) of a new resolution on better governance of mineral resources by the 4th UN Environment Assembly, and was officially presented on 7 May 2019 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, in the presence of Ms Joyce Msuya, UNEP’s acting director. The resolution focuses on gathering information on sustainable practices and knowledge gaps, and on listing implementation strategies and assessment methods. The report is to be submitted to the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly.

Marine Sand Extraction in Belgium

In the meantime, Belgium is continuing to invest in better management of its mineral resources. For more than 40 years, sand has been extracted in Belgian marine waters under the authority and control of the FPS Economy, S.M.E.s, Self-employed and Energy. “In order to support long-term management, a geological knowledge base has been developed for the Belgian and southern Dutch parts of the North Sea, which makes the available quantities per sand quality available for consultation.” explains Vera Van Lancker of the research group ‘Suspended Matter and Seabed Monitoring and Modelling’ of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. “In addition, a link with a numerical toolkit makes it possible to calculate different impact scenarios of extraction.” The final report of the project TILES or ‘Transnational and Integrated Long-term Marine Exploitation Strategies’ is available on the website of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO). As the stocks are not inexhaustible, there is a call for more thoughtful exploitation strategies.

The main objective of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is to achieve ‘good environmental status’ in the marine environment of all EU member states by 2020. Following the publication of a first assessment of the Belgian marine waters in 2012, 2018 is the next reporting year. The main conclusion of the current assessment is that the desired ‘good environmental status’ has not yet been achieved in the Belgian part of the North Sea. However, a positive evolution is observed for various elements.

After the European launch of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in 2008, the framework was incorporated into Belgian legislation in 2010, followed by the publication of an initial assessment of the Belgian marine waters (what state of health is the North Sea in?) and a description of the ‘good environmental status’ (what state do we want to achieve?) in 2012. The environmental objectives that were defined allow us to evaluate the progress towards good environmental status. The MSFD provides for a six-yearly review. Based on data collected in monitoring programmes, mainly during the period 2011-2016, a new evaluation could be composed in 2018. In the new report, more than 50 indicators are assessed (grouped into 11 themes or ‘descriptors’), which allow us to gain insight into the current state of health of our North Sea. The results were compiled in a comprehensive report and summarised on a new website.

The Belgian Part of the North Sea

Although the Belgian marine waters, with a surface area of 3454 km², are only the size of an average Belgian province, they are one of the most intensively used stretches of sea on our planet. It is a constant challenge to keep the influence of various human activities (ship transport, fishing, sand and gravel extraction, renewable energy, dredging, water transport, tourism, etc.) on the marine environment within acceptable limits, and thus to ensure a lasting balance between human influence and the preservation of natural values. Given the importance of transboundary currents on the state of the Belgian part of the North Sea, an international approach is also required for many aspects.

The Main Results

• For commercial fisheries, one of the nine reported fish stocks is assessed as being fished fully sustainable (plaice). Seven species report positive developments (cod, whiting, sole, turbot, brill, dab, flounder). Only for lemon sole did the biomass sometimes decrease during the assessment period. The introduction of more ambitious management objectives and a more correct application of the EU Common Fisheries Policy are important explanatory factors.

• Eutrophication (excessive nutrient concentrations in water, potentially leading to algal blooms and oxygen deficiency) remains a problem in almost one third of the Belgian part of the North Sea, particularly in the coastal zone. Due to the currents, however, this does not necessarily result in undesirable phenomena such as oxygen deficiency.

• The concentrations of pollutants in water, biota and sediment still exceed the applicable environmental quality standards. Most non-compliant substances belong to the group of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances. For certain other substances, further elaboration of target values at regional level is appropriate. A positive evolution (i.e. decreasing trends) was noted for various substances but follow-up remains necessary, in particular for copper, which is again widely used in antifouling paint on ships due to the ban of TBT (tributyltin). For most effects of contaminants a reduction is observed or a good assessment is obtained.

• The incidence of fish diseases cannot yet be assessed and the number of oil-covered birds is showing a sharp downward trend, due to a decrease in the number of illegal oil discharges since the launch of an air monitoring programme in 1991.

• The concentrations of contaminants in fish and fishery products for human consumption all meet the European health standard.

• Eight new non-indigenous species were observed during the assessment period, compared to the 42 already identified in the period before 2011.

• For marine litter the situation is still problematic. This element requires considerable attention. 

• The effects of energy (including underwater noise) on marine biota are still unclear, although the flight behaviour of marine mammals as a response is abundantly clear. The monitoring of environmental noise will be further elaborated on a regional scale.

• The state of the benthic habitat (the bottom) is not optimal, mainly due to disturbance by bottom fishing and only to a very limited extent, or only locally, by other human activities. The species composition of benthic habitats differs from the reference communities due to the lack of long-lived species.

• A positive trend is observed for thornback ray as an indicator for long-lived species, which illustrates the potential for recovery for such species.

• The environmental targets for seabirds are not met, or the numbers are decreasing with current densities just above the threshold values.

Conclusions 

• Good environmental status has not yet been achieved in the Belgian part of the North Sea, although a positive evolution was observed for several elements.

• For certain purposes, further data collection is necessary to reach a conclusion (fish diseases, benthic fauna, seabed litter, …) as monitoring for these aspects was only recently started. Furthermore, for various elements it appears that there is a need for knowledge and scientific support to complete and improve the assessment (litter, underwater noise, cumulative effects, etc.).

• International cooperation remains important as the state of the Belgian waters is largely determined by transboundary currents.

The MSFD monitoring and reporting are coordinated by the Marine Environment Service of the Federal Public Service of Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment (DG EM) and the Scientific Service Management Unit of the Mathematical Model of the North Sea (MUMM) of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). In addition to RBINS, the following partners also made an important contribution: Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Research (ILVO), Institute for Nature and Forest Research (INBO) and the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC).