Jurmo shareholders protect 23,187 hectares of sea for three years

Shareholders in the private waters around Jurmo have voluntarily established a three-year protection zone covering 23,187 hectares, Yle reports. They hope to make the protection permanent, which would create the largest private protected area in the Archipelago Sea.

The shareholders will receive no compensation. The three-year period will allow residents to assess how the restrictions work in practice and whether any changes are needed before permanent protection is considered, said Anna Klemelä, marine conservation project manager at the Baltic Sea Action Group foundation.

The protected waters around Jurmo, an island in the outer archipelago, cover an area larger than Helsinki and four times the size of Nuuksio National Park. Fish farming and the extraction of marine sand will be prohibited, while dredging will be restricted. Anchoring will be permanently banned in eelgrass meadows.

Movement around islets where birds and seals breed will also be restricted during the breeding season. Information boards at the guest harbour will advise boaters of the rules. Hunting and fishing can continue.

The area includes eelgrass meadows, underwater reefs and lagoons, as well as breeding grounds for birds and the Baltic ringed seal, which is classified as near threatened in Finland. Klemelä said the three-year protection period alone would have limited significance for marine nature, making permanent protection an important goal.

The initiative came from the Baltic Sea Action Group, which is advising on the process. Southwest Finland’s regional vitality centre also supports the goal of permanent protection, citing the area’s size and natural values.