A protected offshore island and surrounding shallow waters in the Kattegat. The site is especially important as an undisturbed breeding and resting place for seals and seabirds; access is tightly controlled to reduce disturbance.
Hesselø
Why it is protected
Protect breeding and resting wildlife on Hesselø and the surrounding reefs.
Limit disturbance to seals, seabirds and coastal habitats.
Habitats and significant life
Habitats: Rocky island, Shallow reef, Open Kattegat waters, Seal haul-out.
Significant species: Harbour seal, Grey seal, Breeding seabirds.
Rules and activities
Landing and close approach are restricted under the conservation order.
Mariners must consult the current Danish order and navigation information; the atlas boundary is not a legal navigation chart.
Governance
Danish Nature Agency; Danish national environmental authorities.
Pressures
Wildlife disturbance; Vessel activity; Fishing interactions; Marine pollution.
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 evidenceNo single current ecological trend established
- Evidence period
- Current evidence review
- Geographic scope
- Protected feature or area described by the source
- Confidence
- not-assessed
- 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.
No single current ecological trend established. Confidence: not-assessed. Known conservation values are described, but the reviewed public material does not support an island-wide condition score.
Sources
Hesselø protection context — Danish Nature Agency — Danish Nature Agency. Verified 2026-09-13.