4SEAS

The North Sea is a semi-enclosed sea, lying on the continental shelf between the United Kingdom and the countries of North West Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway. It is a relatively young sea, and rather small, but it has been of tremendous importance in European history and in the development of the cultures and economies of the countries and peoples with which it connects. To this day, it remains a region of great importance, politically, strategically and culturally, and it's ports and shipping are vital to the European economy.

It is a very fertile sea which has provided rich fisheries for centuries and in more recent times has also supplied significant sources of oil and natural gas. But the exploitation of these resources and the huge human populations which have drained their waste into its waters have historically made the North Sea one of the most polluted in the world.

One consequence of the cultural significance of the North sea, is that both the sea itself, and the animals an plants that live in it, are also one of the most studied marine systems in the world and much of our current progress in marine biology can be traced back to studies based on it's shores, waters and the seabed.

Origin and Characteristics

Biology

History

Oddities

Tours

Present Status of the North Sea

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