Ett fartyg på havet, fotograferat från fören och lite underifrån. Kranar och vindkraftverk i bakgrunden.

DEMASK evaluates measures to reduce environmental impact of underwater noise

The EU project DEMASK brings together researchers, authorities and maritime stakeholders from countries around the North Sea to develop recommendations for managing underwater noise.

Underwater noise in the oceans is a growing and still relatively unmanaged environmental problem. The North Sea is one of the world's busiest shipping areas, with many recreational boats along its coasts (not least Sweden's) and where several countries want to increase their energy production from offshore wind power. All this generates underwater noise that risks adversely affecting wildlife and the environment. Despite this, effective measures to reduce noise are lacking.

DEMASK is developing tools to measure and evaluate measures to reduce the environmental impact of underwater noise. The project develops scenarios for how noise levels are affected by different measures that decision-makers and other stakeholders can use to evaluate the most effective measures.

IVL focuses mainly on recreational boats in coastal areas and how they affect the animals that live there. This is particularly important for Sweden, which has a long coastline and many recreational boats in these sensitive areas. We are determining the effects on invertebrates, which are currently little known and therefore often not considered when assessing underwater noise's environmental impact.

DEMASK is carried out in collaboration with nine partners from four countries and is funded in part by the EU's Interreg North Sea Programme. Read more on the DEMASK website. External link, opens in new window.

Project ID 41-2-13-23, the Interreg North Sea Programme 2021-2027, European Regional Development Fund.

EU-flag with the words Interreg - Co-funded by the European Union

Project facts

  • Project name: Development and evaluation of noise management strategies to keep the North Sea healthy (DEMASK)
  • Budget: Total 3.27 million Euro, of which IVL approximately SEK 6.2 million
  • Funded by: Interreg North Sea Programme, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, SIVL
  • Project partners: Ministery of Infrastructure and Water Management – Rijkswaterstaat (NL, coordinator), Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (DE), University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (DE), Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (NL), IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (SE), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (BE), JASCO Applied Sciences (DE), Flanders Marine Institute (BE), North Sea Foundation (NL), Aarhus Universitet (DK, associate partner)
  • Period: 2024 - 2026

Contributes to the UN Global Goals

  • 12. Responsible consumtion and production
  • 14. Life below water