ADVICE OVER LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF CO2 STORAGE ON DANISH CONTINENTAL SHELF

The Greensand Future project, located on the Danish continental shelf, will store CO₂ with a location just kilometres from important sand eel areas in southern Norway.

Sandeels struggle with low recruitment and are vulnerable to changes in pH. This can be exacerbated by CO₂ leaks. New research also shows that low oxygen levels can delay or stop egg development in sand eels.

More knowledge, mapping and targeted methods are needed to safeguard the environment and reduce the risk of damage.

This is what IMR writes in a consultation response to the Norwegian Environment Agency, on behalf of the Directorate of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

The Institute of Marine Research’s consultation response summarised:

• For a long time, sand eels have experienced low recruitment, which indicates an already vulnerable ecosystem condition. At the Viking Bank in particular, early larval farming studies have pointed out that the field is dependent on self-recruitment, which makes it particularly vulnerable to external influences.
• The impact assessment should also focus on larval transport and dispersal in ‘corridors’ that are controlled by the current pattern. The ocean currents follow topography (e.g. the Norwegian Trench” and any fronts between different water masses such as Atlantic water and coastal waters).
• The report on the seismic surveys is not specific enough. The impact assessment does not state exactly when the seismic data is planned, but the advice from IMR is to place these outside the spawning period for fish, if they overlap with these, or are in such proximity that the sound can affect the fish’s behaviour during spawning.
• Furthermore, IMR is concerned that monitoring projects related to such facilities are initiated in general. In this knowledge report, a 5-year programme is outlined, including mapping before start-up. In such monitoring, it is important to include relevant parameters for ocean acidification together with oxygen and nutrients. This is not described well enough in the impact assessment.

Image: The sand eel often burrows into the sandy bottom with its pointed lower jaw. Photographer: Institute of Marine Research