Over a thousand people gathered on Saturday in Vejle, western Denmark, to mourn a fjord suffocated by human activity, most notably agricultural waste.
“It’s a painful event. Last year, Denmark experienced its worst deoxygenation in 25 years,” said Christian Fromberg from Greenpeace, which organised the event.
Approximately 7,500 sq. km – 17% the area of mainland Denmark – is affected, the Danish Environmental Agency reports. With lack of oxygen, marine life disappears.
“Thirty years ago you could easily catch fish. Now, there’s nothing left. The sea floor is totally polluted, devoid of life”, said Vejle local, Hugues Dedieu. Seagrasses, mussels, eels are all gone, with only one fish detected in 70 hours by an underwater surveillance camera installed by the council.
Biologist Stiig Markager from Aarhus University sees this as the “death of the fjord” as key ecosystem elements are critically low and no longer functional.
The poor environmental condition of the 22km long fjord was already cited in South Denmark University’s 2022 report due to high nitrogen levels from fertilisers, largely from farmland runoff. Pigs and cattle in particular have ben blamed. In Denmark, nearly 33 million pigs are produced annually and 64% of land is farmed.
The farmers’ association claims they are trying to improve practices with one agricultural organisation saying that Danish farmers have halved nitrogen discharges since 1990. But it will take years for soil to regenerate.
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When fertilisers are dumped into waters, algae bloom and block light required for oxygen release, aggravating oxygen deficiency at the depths, further worsened by warming. Only five of Denmark’s 109 coastal regions are declared environmentally sound by the Environmental Agency. “Denmark is probably the EU Member State with the worst ecological marine conditions,” Markager lamented.
Geography compounds the problem, with many closed estuaries and low salinity causing water stratification and making it more susceptible to eutrophication.
The Danish Climate Council reported that Denmark is falling short of its target to reduce emissions by 70% by 2030.
