ROSKILDE FJORD

Conservation

There are several conservation rules concerning the fjord, its islands, and the surrounding countryside.
  • No landing on the islands in the birds’ breeding season, from 1st April to 15th July. This does not include Lilleø and Hyldeholm off Skuldelev. On Eskilsø this rule applies only to the salt meadows, and you may visit the church ruins at this time.

  • Hunting- and disturbance-free areas: amongst other things, this rule limits motor boat speed to 8 knots in the areas concerned. Restrictions on hunting are complex, and you should consult The Nature Agency.

  • Bognæs, Boserup and Jægerspris forests are covered by landscape conservation rules.

  • Bløden, beside Risø, is completely closed all year round.

  • During the white-tailed eagles’ breeding season (1st February to 31st July) all access to an area around Egehoved on Bognæs is forbidden, both on land and water.

  • The large oyster shell banks in the fjord are protected against mining.

This is not an exhaustive list but it includes the essentials. People generally comply with these rules, except for the speed limit in the disturbance-free areas. Motor boats often greatly exceed the speed limits, as do water scooters, which are totally forbidden in the fjord.

The southern part of the fjord, as far as and including Jylling Holme, has been included in the ‘Skjoldungernes Land’ national park.


Conservation status

Roskilde Fjord is an EU Special Protection Area and an EU Habitat Area. The designation of hunting- and disturbance-free areas is a result of the fjord’s status as a Special Protection Area. An area is considered to be of international importance for a species if more than 1% of its north west European population regularly spends time there. The following species are in this category:- mute swan (3.5%), greylag goose (1%), tufted duck (5.8%), common goldeneye (1.8%), common merganser (3.2%), coot (1.1%), and whooper swan (1.5%).

The EU’s Birds Directive identifies the following species, which breed or roost on Roskilde Fjord, or pass through when migrating, as species whose habitats require special protection:- whooper swan, white-tailed eagle, avocet, common tern, arctic tern, little tern, mute swan, greylag goose, shoveler, tufted duck, common goldeneye, common merganser, and coot.

Four of the breeding birds – pintail, wigeon, garganey and little tern – are on the ‘red list’, as ‘vulnerable’ or ‘near threatened’. The first three of these do not breed here regularly, and the little tern has been completely absent from the fjord since 2001.

The Special Protection Area and the Habitat Area together are known as a Natura-2000 Area. The Nature Agency has prepared Natura-2000 plans for the conservation of these areas.