New fish atlas to provide an overview of saltwater fish in Denmark

How many different species of saltwater fish are there in Denmark? Where do they live, where do they breed and how large are their populations?

These are some of the questions that will be answered in a new fish atlas, which will be published later in 2024. VELUX FONDEN has made the publication possible through a grant of DKK 1.6 million.

206 species

The Fish Atlas project is anchored at the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen and was launched in 2006. Since then, the project has built up a database with approx. 1.6 million detailed registrations of the fish population in Danish waters. Based on the database, the researchers behind the project have, among other things, made red list assessments for the fish and prepared scientific articles, and in 2012 an atlas of Danish freshwater fish was published.

With support from VELUX FONDEN, the project group is now ready to publish a similar atlas of saltwater fish. The atlas will describe 206 species and contain information on name, appearance and characteristics, distribution and status, and human exploitation, among other things. 

Henrik Carl is the project coordinator for the Fish Atlas and is looking forward to the release:

"With the publication, we get a detailed overview of the distribution of Danish saltwater fish, and it is an important tool, for example, when we need to assess any consequences of climate change for our fish stocks or keep an eye on whether new and perhaps invasive fish species are entering Danish waters. So, both in research and professional circles and among fishermen and nature enthusiasts, the atlas will be a common reference point that will stand for many years," he explains.

Contributions from fishermen and nature enthusiasts

To collect data, the project has received help from fishermen throughout Denmark - commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, anglers, underwater hunters and nature enthusiasts - who over the years have sent in information about the fish they have caught.

Both the research team and the many volunteers include experienced people: Three out of five main authors are over 70 years old, and among the other contributors, around a third are over 60 years old. 

Therefore, VELUX FONDEN has chosen to support the project through the program area Volunteering 60+, with professional input from the program area A sea in balance. In this way, the fish atlas covers several of the foundation's strategic initiatives, explains Head of programme Frank Ulmer Jørgensen:

"It is a national treasure of great value that we are helping on the way - and even though the information is already available electronically on the project's website, it will undoubtedly give the atlas greater distribution to print it as a physical reference work, not least in relation to seniors. With the atlas, we also retain important knowledge about our current marine environment and fish stocks, which will be relevant for many years to come," he emphasizes.

"Atlas over danske saltvandsfisk" will be published in 2024 and is planned to fill two volumes of approx. 800 pages each.