Wikipedia: Raet National Park (Norwegian: Raet nasjonalpark) is a national park in Arendal, Tvedestrand and Grimstad in Aust-Agder, southeastern Norway and includes some islands and coastal areas Raet covers an area of 607 km2 (234 sq mi) of which 599 km2 (231 sq mi) is sea and 8 km2 (3 sq mi) is land Key Linksraetnasjonalpark.no HeadlinesTo nye nasjonalparker er vedtatt på Jomfruland og Raet – regjeringen.noElsewhere on the Webhttps://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/467d5d0d49cc4941877a89113fd5af3d/kgl_raet_nasjonalpark_som_landskapsvernomrade_161216.pdf WikipediaRaet National Park Announcementhttps://www.ltandc.org/event/ltc-workshop-how-can-raet-national-park-be-developed-towards-international-standards was the original vision of the “fathers” of the new marine national park on the Skagerrak-coast of Arendal we invite local LT&C members (including GRID-Arendal) “Friends of Raet National Park” (as found on Facebook) as well as representatives of such tourism businesses which are interested to support the further positive development of the park marine experts from the local Flødevigen Marine Research Station as well as the manager of Raet national park how Raet could at least become the leading example of a marine national park in Norway by developing towards international standards the former director of the International Academy for Nature Protection He is the “father” of the UNESCO-World Heritage cluster “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe“ and wants to see the North-western most beech forest in Europe at Hasseltangen (part of Raet national park) WikipediaSkagerrak Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Theme: NewsUp by Themeansar Since the creation of the lobster reserve in 2012 marine scientists have monitored the lobsters closely Here Alf Ring Kleiven is doing experimental fishing in 2013 The lobster reserve was supposed to ensure more and bigger lobsters in the surrounding area as well Then people started fishing three times as much just outside the borders The marine protected area for lobsters in Tvedestrand is showing very good results for recruitment and the size of the lobsters that live inside it That should also provide a surplus for the surrounding areas “There has been a general increase in the intensity of lobster fishing but we are also seeing a psychological impact caused by the reserve As you would expect the area surrounding the reserve to have improved as a fishing ground The phenomenon is known as ‘fishing the line’ explains marine scientist Portia Nillos Kleiven Her latest article in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences shows that the fishing pressure outside the reserve had doubled within four years of it being created it tripled along the boundaries of the reserve The net impact on the lobster population within 1.5 km of the boundaries was therefore negative “The reserve itself is beneficial to the lobsters that live there Their number almost tripled over the same four-year period” and the situation improves as you move further away from the reserve.” She believes the latest results show the need for a plan for the areas surrounding the reserve if it is to have a positive impact beyond its own boundaries If the fishing pressure continues to increase around the boundary it is also possible to draw on the lobster surplus within the reserve “Empty habitats outside the boundary may attract lobsters from within the reserve This may result in more lobsters being caught in the short term but it will also negate the intended purpose of the reserve” Kleiven and her colleagues measured the changes in fishing pressure in and around the MPA by counting the number of lobster traps in the area before and after the establishment of the lobster reserve Counting up to 3,000 pots spread across 52 square kilometres across the years is an arduous task.  In 2017 it became mandatory for people to sign up if they want to fish for lobsters partly based on the IMR’s advice to the fisheries management “This will make it far easier to estimate catches and fishing pressure in the future That puts us in a great position to learn more about how the authorities can optimise the design of lobster reserves.” Visiting addresses Privacy Policy Copyright © 2025 Institute of Marine Research A private island for sale in the south of Norway provides a gorgeous escape for potential buyers looking for a remote place to live the property is a five-minute boat ride from the mainland harbor and 15 minutes by car from the city of Tvedestrand The island itself is home to a 1,905-square-foot house with four bedrooms The home also boasts a reception hall for social gatherings and a dock for several boats Although Tjaereholmen has an asking price of $2.3 million you don't need that amount in your bank account to take a look around the island below 1.14-acre property is situated in a picturesque setting surrounded by fjords and islands The island also isn't far from towns like Lyngør and Arendal that are ideal for dining and shopping excursions Slathering fishing nets with tar and subsequently drying them in the sun is one method of making them stronger and less susceptible to wear from the salty ocean water The future owners of the property can enjoy miles and miles of water views and break out the fishing poles whenever they please the property was originally constructed as a summer home for a wealthy banker from Norway The spacious reception area is suitable for entertaining guests The home's many windows and pale wooden walls allow for plenty of light The listing stresses that every detail of the home was carefully planned out You can see the water from almost every spot around the property Tjaereholmen is listed at just under $2.3 million You can find out more by contacting the real-estate agency here After years of massive hytte construction in Norway that fed a craving for holiday homes the market has tumbled and authorities are reining in building permits It’s mostly a result of supply and demand but also rising concern over how large developments have scarred the landscape and destroyed nature Hundreds of thousands of Norwegians are currently spending their Easter holidays at their holiday homes known (in plural form) as hytter They’re no longer simple rustic cabins in the mountains without electricity or indoor plumbing Development of modern hytte projects containing hundreds of cabins perched relatively close together on what once were forested mountainsides took off after the Olympics at Lillehammer in 1994 Today there are nearly half-a-million hytter in Norway “Norwegians love being at their hytter,” wrote analysts at state statistics bureau SSB (Statistics Norway) in conjunction with its latest study on what became a major industry but is now falling on harder times SSB reported last week that total sales of newly built hytter were 38 percent lower last year than in 2022 Sales of existing hytter were down 13 percent during the same period Hytte sales and prices boomed during the pandemic when it suddenly wasn’t possible to travel abroad New hytter also offer all the comforts of home SSB reports that half of those sold last year in Øyer (home to popular mountain ski resorts including Hafjell) cost more than NOK 5.1 million (around USD 500,000 even with today’s weak krone) Hytter along the coast of Southern Norway at Tvedestrand had a median price of NOK 5.5 million Now a combination of relatively high interest rates inflation that’s hit household budgets and the ability to travel abroad again has hurt the market “Sales of new hytter haven’t been lower since 2015,” said Dagfinn Sve of SSB “We have to go back to early in the 2000s to find fewer sales of hytter on the open market than in 2023.” Another factor is finally playing a role, much to the delight of environmental advocates. Recent studies have shown just how severely hytte developments have ravaged forests, altered landscapes, disturbed nature and brought light pollution that can bother wildlife “The nighttime skies over Ørterhøgda (in the mountains at Gol) will never be dark again,” wrote commentator Lars West Johnsen in newspaper Dagsavisen last week lamenting how the area around the small hytte his family has owned for generations has changed dramatically despite local protests Many local governments were more interested in the jobs and tax revenues that massive hytte building could bring Post-war shortages that limited the size of hytter to just 40 square meters (around 400 square feet) were removed long ago but average hytte size remained at around 60 square meters until well into the 1980s That all changed when Norway’s oil wealth spilled over more and more Norwegians and also when industrialist Kjell Inge Røkke built a huge “hytte” complex at Oppdal and sent standards and possibilities through the roof Even though his sprawling project was bashed by traditionalists than their buyers’ homes in the city “The hytte paradoxes have been lining up,” wrote Johnsen “The mountains we love are being scarred Sustainability of the nature is being undermined.” At the same time hytte owners “can’t deny the same privilege to others.” Others including author Marit Beate Kasin have written that “our hytte dream has become nature’s nightmare.” The state government recently proposed allowing local building authorities more freedom to build without meeting the same strict regulations found in cities but also urging denser hytte building within already established subdivisions instead of opening up more nature to more projects The state also proposes that no new developments be built around marshes or above timberline Newspaper Aftenposten was among those editorializing that the proposal doesn’t go far enough because more building would still create a need for more roads more infrastructure and more destruction of nature a region home to such popular skiing destinations as Geilo and Ustaoset are among those responding to calls for more control over hytte building Newspaper Hallingdølen reported that a majority wants to remove 1,300 planned hytte building sites to help stop destruction of more nature There are already more than 6,000 hytter in the area and developers would still be allowed to build 3,300 more by 2036 but in areas where there already are hytter Many new hytte buyers don’t mind having their hytter right next to one another and like the idea of after-ski culture at local pubs or cafés buyers in the new development called Turufjell at Flå in Hallingdal realize that nearly 400 lots have been sold over the past six years more hytter are being build and that can mean they’ll have as many as 2,000 hytte neighours “Everyone who’s buying here knows there will be expansion,” Stig Paulsen “Those who criticize hytte building in Norway are often those who already have hytter They want to draw the ladder up after themselves.” Others hope economic factors will continue to lower demand for hytter keep sales low and restrict new hytte building They’re comforted by SSB’s numbers showing how even though 9,500 hytter were sold last year that’s 7,000 less than in 2021 (when the pandemic was at its peak) and 1,900 fewer than in 2022 is giving rise to a new market: Buyers from abroad who think Norway has more stable winter conditions and can offer more snow for skiing than destinations in the alps The weak krone is also yielding a highly favourable exchange rate against the euro and much stronger Danish kroner with more sales reported recently to Danes NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund If you like what we are doing, please consider a donation. 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READ MORE NewsInEnglish.no is a free and independent Oslo-based website offering news from Norway It’s run on a voluntary basis by veteran journalists keen to share insight into Norwegian politics UPDATED: Thousands of Norwegians started the New Year by being stuck in snowdrifts or trying to shovel their way out of them The enormous amounts of snow that have buried much of the southern part of the country were branded as “unusual,” and more snow is expected throughout the week State meteorologists had issued warnings of heavy snow accompanied by strong winds and the storms set in as expected on New Year’s Eve By New Year’s Day transport of all types was disrupted and thousands of residents in the southwestern county of Agder lost their electricity Officials in the southern cities of Kristiansand and Arendal set up crisis management teams to handle the deluge as did the smaller coastal community of Risør after nearly 70 centimeters had fallen by Monday afternoon Local authorities also opened up city garages for free so that motorists who managed to dig out their cars parked on city streets could get them out of the way and make it easier for snowplows to clear streets and sidewalks By Tuesday afternoon most municipalities along the coast including Kristiansand Risør and Arendal had decided to keep schools closed at least through Wednesday because of the weather conditions The Red Cross made extra ambulances available in case of emergencies and more than a dozen snowmobiles were put into service to transport medical teams if necessary The snow had kept falling through the night and Tuesday forcing shutdown of local train lines including Arendalsbanen portions of Sørlandsbanen and Vestfoldbanen farther north Commuters living in Tønsberg had few alternatives on Tuesday and were urged to work from home if possible was also struggling and then the busy E6 motorway into Oslo from the south closed at Ås Tuesday morning after a serious car accident Motorists venturing out in their cars were urged to have plenty of warm clothes or blankets food and drink with them in case they got stuck They also were told to have a spade in the car since snow was falling so fast “and blowing in all directions” that they may need to dig themselves out Oslo officials announced Tuesday afternoon that the snow would cause delays in garbage collection because garbarge trucks faced severe access problems to pick-up points “We apologize to all those who won’t get their garbage picked up as usual men hope for understanding and patience because of the difficult conditions for us,” said Marianne Holen of the city agency in charge there was more traffic trouble throughout the day especially after the main E18 highway had to close near Grimstad on the southern coast Several vehicles got stuck as snow continued to fall State meteorologists warned that as much as 40 more centimeters of snow may fall by Thursday on top of the roughly 70 already on the ground better known as a popular summer holiday destination while downtown Kristiansand appeared all but inundated Driving was otherwise discouraged all over Southern Norway with local mayors urging people to “just stay home.” the public transport agency in the Oslo area considered shutting down all bus traffic Monday afternoon because road crews couldn’t keep streets cleared “This is just getting worse and worse,” Ruter spokesperson Gro Janbor told newspaper Aftenposten “It’s slippery and there’s just too much snow.” Reduced service continued on important cross-town bus lines but even the tram from downtown up to the hills at Frognerseteren The weather was worse along the coast than in the mountains Motorists had to wait in long lines to join escorted convoys also on the main E134 highway over Haukeli State meteorologists extended their warnings for heavy snow and difficult transport conditions through Wednesday when temperatures were due to plummet in line with a new cold front moving in Oslo residents are among those warned of frigid temperatures well into next week