In North Sea - Nature Untamed (original title: De Wilde Noordzee), diver and photographer/cameraman Peter van Rodijnen takes you beneath the surface of one of the world’s busiest and most intensively used seas, revealing its wild and untamed character. It is a breathtaking film that captures both the beauty and the ecological vulnerability of the North Sea.

The North Sea is vital to our societies and to our way of living. Supporting our needs in energy, food, trade, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

The audience comprised a diverse group of British and international partners from government, civil society organisations, interest groups, and representatives from other countries on the North Sea. With attendees familiar with the competing interests of offshore wind, shipping, fisheries, climate adaptation and nature within the North Sea, the evening served to inspire and to reiterate the importance of multilateral cooperation to ensure the North Sea remains both resilient and productive for generations to come.

The evening presented an opportunity to pause and look more closely at what lies beneath the surface, and at the choices stakeholders face in using and managing this shared space.

The Greater North Sea Basin Initiative brings together the nine North Sea countries and strives to better align maritime spatial planning across our borders, and across our sectors, and the UK's engagement is vital.

It is about more than just technical alignment. It’s about tackling what we call the “spatial squeeze” and the so called “ecological squeeze”: balancing the growing use with environmental limits. Its about finding smarter ways to share the space at the North Sea, and to reduce cumulative impacts on the ecosystem as a whole.

The UK’s engagement is vital to the success of this initiative, as it is home to one of the largest stretches of the North Sea. Therefore the decisions made in the UK on marine planning, offshore wind, fisheries, and conservation ripple across the basin. The Netherlands greatly values the UK’s active role and commitment to this partnership: nearly 60% of our maritime border in the Netherlands is shared with the UK.

During the lively Q&A session we heard first impressions from Chloe Meacher, Head of UK Marine Strategy & Spatial Prioritisation Programme, DEFRA, and from director Mark Verkerk and director of photography Peter, moderated by Philip de Jong, Counsellor for Agricuture, Food, Fisheries and Nature at the Embassy.

The film was made possible by contributions from the Dutch Government Ministries of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Nature, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water, Minstry Economic Affairs and Inclusive Green Growth.