Welcome to Kosterhavet National Park

The first marine national park in Sweden was established in 2009.

On the west coast of Sweden, on the border to Norway, the first marine national park in Sweden is established. The marine environment here is influenced by the Atlantic and it includes habitats and species found nowhere else in Swedish waters.

This area, Kosterhavet, is also a valuable recreational resource - it is one of Sweden´s most visited tourist destinations - and has an important inshore fishery, mostly for prawns and Norwegian lobsters. Protecting and maintaining the natural and economic wealth of Kosterhavet is one of the great challenges in managing this new national park. The Kosterhavet National Park was inaugerated in september 2009.

Sweden's highest marine biodiversity

Close to the bottom of the 200 meter deep Koster Fjord the high salinity (34-35‰) and the low temperature (5-7°C) seawater is more typical of the open ocean than of Swedish coastal waters. Sub-surface currents bring larvae of deep ocean species such as brachiopods, sponges and cold-water corals from the Atlantic continental slope. Of the 6000 marine species that have been identified in Kosterhavet, more than 200 are found nowhere else in Sweden.

A national park can promote local development

Kosterhavet is both home and workplace to many people. Nearly 24 000 people live in this, and neighbouring districts. About 1 000 people live in, or immediately adjacent to the national park. Tourism is a major source of income, Kosterhavet has excellent recreational opportunities. The area attracts over 90 000 turists each year.