Belgium reconciles marine users in long-term vision North Sea 2050

Federal State Secretary for the North Sea Philippe De Backer (Open Vld) presented the long-term vision for the North Sea 2050 in Zeebrugge today. “We must reconcile the many activities on the Belgian part of the North Sea (BNZ) as much as possible with each other and with the natural values. The maritime sector is the engine of our economy and, with more than 150,000 ship movements, it is one of the busiest routes in the world. Besides traditional users such as shipping, ports, fishing and sand extraction, we also see tourism and new knowledge-driven activities such as aquaculture, marine biotechnology, wind and wave energy.”