Sweden’s first marine national park protects a deep, highly saline trench and an exceptional underwater landscape of cold-water coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrass meadows and rocky shores beside Norway’s Ytre Hvaler National Park.
2014914 Kosterhavets nationalpark
Why it is protected
Conserve the Koster Sea’s distinctive marine habitats and high biodiversity.
Protect sensitive seabed communities while supporting compatible recreation and fishing.
Habitats and significant life
Habitats: Cold-water coral reef, Deep trench, Kelp forest, Seagrass meadow, Rocky shore.
Significant species: Lophelia cold-water coral, Sea whips, Brachiopods, Northern prawn, European lobster.
Rules and activities
Fishing continues under special spatial and gear regulations, including protected sensitive areas.
Diving, paddling and boating are compatible uses when park rules and wildlife protections are followed.
Governance
Västra Götaland County Administrative Board; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency; Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
Pressures
Bottom-contact fishing; Anchoring and seabed disturbance; Marine litter; Ocean warming.
Protection effectiveness
These dimensions are intentionally separate: a valid designation or active management program does not, by itself, prove ecological recovery.
Habitats and marine life connections
Ecologically related protected areas
These places share documented habitat types or the same ocean region. The relationship is ecological context, not proof of direct connectivity.
Condition and evidence
MLL reports what the available evidence supports. It does not infer ecological health from designation or mapped coverage.
Insufficient evidence
Place-specific ecology and management evidence has been reviewed, but the available indicators do not support a single current ecological trend for the whole protected area.
Ecological Condition
Insufficient evidenceHabitat-specific monitoring; no single park-wide trend assigned
- Evidence period
- Current evidence review
- Geographic scope
- Protected feature or area described by the source
- Confidence
- limited
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-12
How to read this: Insufficient evidence means the available evidence cannot support a conclusion. It does not mean the MPA is in poor condition.
Habitat-specific monitoring; no single park-wide trend assigned. Confidence: limited. The profile reports documented conservation values and pressures without inferring ecological outcome from designation.
Sources
About Kosterhavet National Park — Sweden's National Parks. Verified 2026-09-13.
Fishing regulations in Marine Protected Areas — Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. Verified 2026-09-13.