From Rods to Reefs: Danish Anglers Restore Coastal Ecosystems with “Kysthjælper” project

Danish coastal marine environment is under pressure - hence the need for the "Kysthjaelper (Coastal helper)" project

Denmark’s coastal marine environments are facing significant challenges. Oxygen depletion, pollution, and the degradation of reef structures have turned previously thriving fjords and bays into barren habitats with diminished biodiversity. These environmental pressures have also impacted local fisheries and coastal communities, undermining both livelihoods and ecosystems.

With Coastal Helper, the Danish EAA member – Danmarks Sportfiskerforbund - wants to create a popular ownership of the sea and the coastal areas. Together with volunteers around the country, the organisation wants to improve the coastal marine environment.

The Coastal Helper Project aims to: 

1. Enable community-driven restoration through activities such as eelgrass planting and the creation of small-scale stone reefs and mussel banks
2. Bridge the knowledge gap by providing volunteers, anglers, and civil society actors with tools, training, and coordination needed to take effective local action. 

By consolidating existing expertise and fostering partnerships, the project will produce a practical toolkit to support marine restoration. This especially as the absence of a coordinated network of organizations, educational institutions, and municipalities hampers volunteers’ ability to make a meaningful, local impact.

Although the project has national relevance, it is locally rooted through four pilot sites: Limfjord, Aarhus Bay, Horsens Fjord, and the Little Belt near Assens. The current phase of the project is scheduled to run until the end of August 2025.

Coastal Helper - first activities to restore Danish aquatic environments

In June 2025, key restoration activities will be implemented at the four pilot sites. Highlights include three large-scale eelgrass planting events as part of the national initiative Denmark Plants Eelgrass, as well as the creation of a new stone reef in the Limfjord. 

On Sunday 15 June, volunteers across Denmark—including many anglers—will participate in eelgrass planting. Trained divers – which includes anglers – will transplant shoots to the seabed, while others will assist in preparing the harvested plants for deployment.

Eelgrass is a keystone species in coastal ecosystems, serving as habitat for fish, crustaceans, and snails, and food for seabirds. Its decline—due to nutrient pollution, seabed construction, and bottom-trawling—has reduced coastal biodiversity. However, restoration efforts have shown that eelgrass can be successfully replanted, which is central to the Coastal Helper project.

Volunteer testimonials

Working as a volunteer coastal helper is meaningful for several reasons. Torben Hougaard – “Coastal Helper” volunteer has experienced this while participating in both the planting of eelgrass and the laying of mussels in the Bay of Aarhus in recent years. 

"First and foremost, we make a difference to the marine environment, but it is also uplifting to be with other people with the same attitude and the same wishes to help nature. It makes me happy, says Torben Hougaard. 

He mentions an extra bonus of the work with marine nature restoration, and it is the special nature experiences that come with it. Most recently at the laying of mussels, where the team was accompanied by the locally very famous dolphin "Skywalker", which is currently swimming around in the Bay of Aarhus.

To the left is the dolphin "Skywalker" that accompanied the coast helpers.
Photo: Niels Age Skovbo

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