Öresund - from then to now

Öresund is a positive example of how a sea area can recover from being sick to healthy and prospering, if it only gets the right conditions. With increased sea awareness and great commitment, we can create change!

 

In the 1940s, problems began to appear in the Sound. Toxins, emissions from factories, sewage and agriculture had a negative effect on Öresund and in the 80's it was really bad. Seals died, fish got blisters and fungal diseases and eutrophication led to toxic algal blooms taking turns and areas with bottom death spreading. In the late 80's, the public opened their eyes to how serious the situation was and in 1988 more than 10,000 people demonstrated in Helsingborg for a cleaner Öresund. This resulted in an investigation to investigate the condition in Öresund. It was discovered that many of Öresund's animals and plants had disappeared and that large areas on the bottom were dead due to lack of oxygen and toxins from the factories. This became the origin of a number of measures, including regulating emissions from agriculture, improving industries and treatment plants and increasing environmental awareness.

 

In the early 1990s, when the Öresund Bridge was to be built, the environmental movement was concerned that the bridge construction would be harmful to marine life. Today we can state that the bridge has not had the harmful effects that it was afraid of, perhaps because the commitment to the marine environment meant that several environmental studies were carried out during construction to ensure that it would not harm plant and animal life in the sea. Today, Öresund has recovered in a fantastic way, from being an almost dead sea in the early 1990s.