On April 3rd and 4th, 2024, the kick-off of the European project DEMASK took place at the Dutch coastal town of Zandvoort. Demask is an Interreg North Sea project which focuses on uniting policymakers, NGOs, and the maritime industry in managing the underwater soundscape of the North Sea. This project will empower stakeholders to implement measures that enhance a well-managed soundscape and strengthen the marine ecosystem.
Jeannette Plokker, head of the Water Quality and Nature Management department at Rijkswaterstaat, opened the kick-off. Following the opening speech, keynote speaker Annebelle Kok, marine biologist from the University of Groningen, gave a nice and interactive presentation on her research: "The song of the sea: using marine sounds to study animal behavior." Using hydrophones (underwater microphones), she investigated the variety of fish species in the Wadden Sea. Due to the turbid water, underwater life is difficult to study here. Her research yielded several interesting findings. For instance, over 6000 sounds were observed in the Wadden Sea, fish can sing (although it sounds different from humans), and the sound varies with the season and time of day.
The morning ended with a presentation by Niels Kinneging about the goals, the work packages and the stakeholders of DEMASK. After lunch, the leaders of the work packages, BSH, TNO and TiHo, presented their goals and the planned activities within their work package. The day meeting ended with a stakeholder discussion where participants were asked to think about their role in the field of underwater noise and what they can contribute to DEMASK, the most important (future) developments in the North Sea and which (management) measures should be examined and what they think DEMASK will deliver. In the evening, the participants of the kick-off had a nice dinner while looking out over the North Sea.
The second day started with a Q&A session with Peter Racz of the Interreg North Sea program where the participants could ask all their questions about the Interreg North Sea program. The day progressed with various discussions about the organisation and milestones of DEMASK, as well as looking back at the results of the JOMOPANS-project. The participants then enthusiastically discussed the content and focus of the various work packages. The coherence of these work packages and the consequences of choices made in one work package that influence the other work package(s) were frequently discussed. After the lunch, the participants started brainstorming in break-out groups about the communication of the project and collaboratively creating a timeline.
After this, the program of these two days came to an end and the day was closed by Niels. We look back on two successful days in which the participants came closer together and the first important steps for the DEMASK-project were taken. This makes us very curious about the developments that will follow in the coming months!