Thanks — Delfdust extraction at sea — win area shells

This concerns the winning area for shell extraction with possibility for information on location of current extraction and quantity of shells extracted. Shells are a natural raw material that has traditionally been extracted along the coast. The shells that are extracted mainly consist of fossil shells from, for example, clams, mussels, nuns and gapers.Shells are used as a building raw material for various applications, such as drainage, insulation, monument restorations, shore protections, bird resting sites, cycling and hiking trails, grit fabrication, compound feed etc. Shell extraction is allowed in areas up to 50 kilometres from the coast, from the NAP -5 m depth line. Except in the North Sea and the Voordelta, the extraction takes place in the outer deltas and sea holes of the Wadden Sea. In the Wadden Sea and Voordelta this takes place on banks of (dead and mostly fossil) shells released by natural processes. Therefore, no layers of sand are moved by the shellfishers. National policy for the extraction of shells has been laid down in the National Policy Paper on Schelpenwinning (1998) and in its partial revisions (2001 and 2004). The quantities of shells that may be extracted are subject to a permit under the Nature Conservation Act. Shell extraction in the Wadden Sea is regulated by contingency and zoning. The maximum quantity of shells to be extracted is calculated on the basis of the natural growth of the shells. The quota of shells to be extracted is smaller than the natural average annual natural growth of shells (in the Wadden Sea). The total annual win quota for the period 2014-2016 is set at 160.000 m³. Of this, a maximum of 50 % (80.000 m³) may be extracted in the Wadden Sea PKB area. In practice, extraction is mainly determined by demand. In the period 2007-2010, 135.000 m³ per year was won. It is still unclear how the demand for this natural raw material will develop although a small shift is expected from the Wadden Sea and the Voordelta to the North Sea.