99-606: The SY Hildegarde and the SY Hiawatha were steam yachts chartered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom) - Directorate of Fisheries, now known as the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) between 1912 and 1914 to carry out fishery investigations. Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932. Ships built at
198-556: A conflict of interest . MAFF was widely criticised for its handling of the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (more widely known as mad cow disease) and later the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 2001 . It was merged with the part of the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions that dealt with the environment (and with a small part of the Home Office) to create
297-557: A Tuath . The North Sea has provided waterway access for commerce and conquest. Many areas have access to the North Sea because of its long coastline and the European rivers that empty it. There is little documentary evidence concerning the North Sea before the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 CE, however, archaeological evidence reveals the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along
396-467: A balanced or healthy diet to survivors. Among the foodstuffs that were part of the stockpile were: Items with a long shelf life made up much of the stockpile, including tinned and canned foods. Glucose sweets were also produced, but only in limited numbers as they were expensive. A full detailed list of these buffer depots was included in Duncan Campbell's 1983 book War Plan UK. By 1995, with the end of
495-704: A challenge to their dominance of the North Sea until the 20th century. Tensions in the North Sea were again heightened in 1904 by the Dogger Bank incident . During the Russo-Japanese War , several ships of the Russian Baltic Fleet, which was on its way to the Far East, mistook British fishing boats for Japanese ships and fired on them, and then upon each other, near the Dogger Bank, nearly causing Britain to enter
594-573: A maximum depth of 725 metres (2,379 ft). The Dogger Bank , a vast moraine , or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris, rises to a mere 15 to 30 m (50 to 100 ft) below the surface. This feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with roughly uniform depth in fathoms (forty fathoms and fourteen fathoms or 73 and 26 m or 240 and 85 ft deep, respectively). These great banks and others make
693-572: A new captain, Lieutenant Kane, was appointed to the Managem , while Captain Lewen Weldon represented British intelligence on board. One of Weldon's tasks was to deposit agents and spies on the shores of Palestine and Syria and to transmit telegraphic messages from the ship to British central intelligence in Cairo. Eventually it was decided to withdraw her and to use homing pigeons to convey this information, due to
792-571: A new government department, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 2001. MAFF was formally dissolved on 27 March 2002, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (SI 2002/794) came into force. The Board of Agriculture, which later become the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), was established under the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 . It
891-475: A share of this stability for agricultural workers. The aim was to increase output of home-grown food and reduce dependence on imports. In June 1917, Lord Devonport resigned as Food Controller to be replaced by Lord Rhondda , who introduced compulsory rationing of meat, sugar and butter in early 1918. By 1918, there were controls over 94% of foodstuffs; the Food Controller bought all essential food supplies and
990-507: A small department concerned with pest and disease control, agricultural research and education, improvement of livestock, and provision of allotments and smallholdings. Over the next few years, its workload grew. In the late 1920s and early 1930s the government introduced new measures to support domestic agriculture and farmers' income. Subsidies or price insurance schemes were created for sugar beet, wheat, cattle, dairy and sheep. The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act 1928 promoted
1089-461: A tariff on most imports including fruit and vegetables and quotas on imports of bacon, ham and other meat products. In 1936 the tithe rent charge was abolished, compensation paid to the Church and the money recovered from farmers over a 60-year period. In 1937 a scheme was introduce to subsidise the spreading of lime on agricultural land to boost the fertility of the soil. The Food (Defence Plans) Department
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#17330856109221188-699: A vast merchant marine, a large fishing fleet, powerful navy, and sophisticated financial markets made the Dutch the ascendant power in the North Sea, to be challenged by an ambitious England. This rivalry led to the first three Anglo-Dutch Wars between 1652 and 1673, which ended with Dutch victories. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the Dutch prince William ascended to the English throne. With unified leadership, commercial, military, and political power began to shift from Amsterdam to London. The British did not face
1287-611: Is 17 °C (63 °F) in the summer and 6 °C (43 °F) in the winter. The average temperatures have been trending higher since 1988, which has been attributed to climate change . Air temperatures in January range on average between 0 and 4 °C (32 and 39 °F) and in July between 13 and 18 °C (55 and 64 °F). The winter months see frequent gales and storms. The salinity averages between 34 and 35 grams per litre (129 and 132 g/US gal) of water. The salinity has
1386-518: Is also home to marine mammals. Common seals , grey seals , and harbour porpoises can be found along the coasts, at marine installations, and on islands. The very northern North Sea islands such as the Shetland Islands are occasionally home to a larger variety of pinnipeds including bearded , harp , hooded and ringed seals , and even walrus . North Sea cetaceans include various porpoise , dolphin and whale species. Plant species in
1485-554: Is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, covering 570,000 square kilometres (220,000 sq mi). It hosts key north European shipping lanes and is a major fishery . The coast is a popular destination for recreation and tourism in bordering countries, and a rich source of energy resources, including wind and wave power . The North Sea has featured prominently in geopolitical and military affairs, particularly in Northern Europe , from
1584-676: Is recorded to have killed more than 100,000 people. In 1362, the Second Marcellus Flood , also known as the Grote Manndrenke , hit the entire southern coast of the North Sea. Chronicles of the time again record more than 100,000 deaths, large parts of the coast were lost permanently to the sea, including the now legendary lost city of Rungholt . In the 20th century, the North Sea flood of 1953 flooded several nations' coasts and cost more than 2,000 lives. 315 citizens of Hamburg died in
1683-521: The Battle of Heligoland Bight , the Battle of the Dogger Bank , and the Battle of Jutland . World War I also brought the first extensive use of submarine warfare , and a number of submarine actions occurred in the North Sea. The Second World War also saw action in the North Sea, though it was restricted more to aircraft reconnaissance and action by fighter/bomber aircraft, submarines and smaller vessels such as minesweepers and torpedo boats . After
1782-573: The English Channel was triggered by the earthquake, which in turn caused a tsunami. The tsunami triggered by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake reached Holland, although the waves had lost their destructive power. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom was the 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake , which measured 6.1 on the Richter magnitude scale and caused a small tsunami that flooded parts of
1881-656: The Frisian Islands . The North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles . A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea, including water from the Baltic Sea . The largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse . Around 185 million people live in
1980-508: The Last Glacial Maximum when the sea began to flood the European continental shelf. In 2006 a bone fragment was found while drilling for oil in the North Sea. Analysis indicated that it was a Plateosaurus from 199 to 216 million years ago. This was the deepest dinosaur fossil ever found and the first find for Norway. Copepods and other zooplankton are plentiful in the North Sea. These tiny organisms are crucial elements of
2079-954: The Latin names Mare Germanicum and Oceanus Germanicus , and these persisted in use until the First World War. Other common names in use for long periods were the Latin terms Mare Frisicum , as well as the English equivalent, "Frisian Sea". The modern names of the sea in the other local languages are: Danish : Vesterhavet , lit. 'West Sea' [ˈvestɐˌhɛˀvð̩] or Nordsøen [ˈnoɐ̯ˌsøˀn̩] , Dutch : Noordzee , Dutch Low Saxon : Noordzee , French : Mer du Nord , West Frisian : Noardsee , German : Nordsee , Low German : Noordsee , North Frisian : Weestsiie , lit. 'West Sea', Swedish : Nordsjön , Bokmål : Nordsjøen [ˈnûːrˌʂøːn] , Nynorsk : Nordsjøen , Scots : North Sea and Scottish Gaelic : An Cuan
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#17330856109222178-557: The Lowestoft fisheries laboratory and sold the RV Huxley . Consequently, from then onwards the now London-based staff were forced to make their research voyages aboard chartered commercial vessels. During the course of the financial year 1912-13 a grant was made available to allow the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to charter the steam yacht Hildegarde for a series of dedicated studies into
2277-517: The North Sea flood of 1962 . Though rare, the North Sea has been the site of a number of historically documented tsunamis . The Storegga Slides were a series of underwater landslides, in which a piece of the Norwegian continental shelf slid into the Norwegian Sea. The immense landslips occurred between 8150 BCE and 6000 BCE, and caused a tsunami up to 20 metres (66 ft) high that swept through
2376-846: The Shetland Islands). On the North. From the North point (Fethaland Point) of the Mainland of the Shetland Islands, across to Graveland Ness (60°39'N) in the Island of Yell , through Yell to Gloup Ness (1°04'W) and across to Spoo Ness (60°45'N) in Unst island, through Unst to Herma Ness (60°51'N), on to the SW point of the Rumblings and to Muckle Flugga ( 60°51′N 0°53′W / 60.850°N 0.883°W / 60.850; -0.883 ) all these being included in
2475-622: The Trawling through Time initiative. Additional survey work was carried out by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries on sprat and small herring (whitebait) in 1915 and 1916 aboard the chartered fishing vessel SS Unity (LO 170) although restricted to the East Anglian coast and Thames estuary. Before the First World War , the SY Hildegarde was renamed as the Managem . On 15 January 1917 she
2574-491: The catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas. For the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres (300 ft). The only exception is the Norwegian trench , which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to an area north of Bergen . It is between 20 and 30 kilometres (12 and 19 mi) wide and has
2673-463: The food chain supporting many species of fish. Over 230 species of fish live in the North Sea. Cod , haddock , whiting , saithe , plaice , sole , mackerel , herring , pouting , sprat , and sandeel are all very common and are fished commercially. Due to the various depths of the North Sea trenches and differences in salinity, temperature, and water movement, some fish such as blue-mouth redfish and rabbitfish reside only in small areas of
2772-535: The littoral is low and marshy. The east coast and south-east of the North Sea ( Wadden Sea ) have coastlines that are mainly sandy and straight owing to longshore drift , particularly along Belgium and Denmark. The southern coastal areas were originally flood plains and swampy land. In areas especially vulnerable to storm surges, people settled behind elevated levees and on natural areas of high ground such as spits and geestland . As early as 500 BC, people were constructing artificial dwelling hills higher than
2871-729: The 13th century the Hanseatic League , though centred on the Baltic Sea , started to control most of the trade through important members and outposts on the North Sea. The League lost its dominance in the 16th century, as neighbouring states took control of former Hanseatic cities and outposts. Their internal conflict prevented effective cooperation and defence. As the League lost control of its maritime cities, new trade routes emerged that provided Europe with Asian, American, and African goods. The 17th century Dutch Golden Age saw Dutch maritime power at its zenith. Important overseas colonies,
2970-556: The Agricultural Wages Board abolished, as part of the government's deflationary policies. By 1922 virtually all of war-time controls had gone. The area under cultivation in Britain fell from 12 million acres (49,000 km²) in 1918 to 9 million acres (36,000 km²) in 1926. Farm prices continued to decline and then fell by 34% in the three years after 1929. During this period, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries remained
3069-684: The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries (later MAFF), who in-turn were required to come to an agreement with the Marine Biological Association (MBA) as to how scientific investigations could continue into the future, in support of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). On 1 April 1910 staff at the fisheries laboratory in Lowestoft moved to 43 Parliament Street, London, becoming civil servants. The Association closed
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3168-623: The British coast. Shallow epicontinental seas like the current North Sea have since long existed on the European continental shelf . The rifting that formed the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, from about 150 million years ago , caused tectonic uplift in the British Isles. Since then, a shallow sea has almost continuously existed between
3267-664: The Cold War, all buffer depots had been closed. North Sea Download coordinates as: The North Sea lies between Great Britain , Denmark , Norway , Germany , the Netherlands , Belgium and France . An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf , it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It
3366-545: The Corn Production Act guaranteed cereal prices. The ministry had a staff of more than 8,000 with food control committees and divisional commissioners across the country. The Ministry's Wheat Commission took over flour mills and dictated the shape and weight of bread, prohibiting sales of muffins, crumpets and teacakes. Oats, barley and beans were added to bread. These measures were said to have saved about 10 million sacks of wheat, but they were not universally welcomed. Meat
3465-736: The Egyptian Government in 1913, to be used as a survey yacht by the Egyptian Survey Department, Alexandria. SY Hiawatha was built as the steam yacht Nora by Charles Mitchell & Co, Low Walker, Newcastle Upon Tyne . She was launched on 21 December 1879 (Yard Number 392), but was renamed as the SY Hiawatha in 1888 when she was taken into the ownership of Donald Horne Macfarlane and re-registered in Southampton . Her dimensions were 339grt, 219nrt, 176.8 x 26.1 x 13.4 ft and she
3564-521: The Food Production Department established during the war. In 1919 prices of farm produce had risen by 25% compared to prices at the end of the war. The Agriculture Act 1920 set out guaranteed prices for wheat and oats based on the 1919 averages, to be reviewed annually. However, in the early 1920s, prices fell drastically, the Act was repealed, guaranteed prices were replaced by lump sum payments and
3663-555: The Middle Ages through the 15th century, the northern European coastal ports exported domestic goods, dyes, linen, salt, metal goods and wine. The Scandinavian and Baltic areas shipped grain, fish, naval necessities, and timber. In turn, the North Sea countries imported high-grade cloths, spices, and fruits from the Mediterranean region. Commerce during this era was mainly conducted by maritime trade due to underdeveloped roadways. In
3762-571: The Middle Ages to the modern era. It was also important globally through the power northern Europeans projected worldwide during much of the Middle Ages and into the modern era. The North Sea was the centre of the Vikings' rise . The Hanseatic League , the Dutch Republic , and the British each sought to gain command of the North Sea and access to the world's markets and resources. As Germany's only outlet to
3861-480: The Netherlands. The North Sea Floods of 1953 and 1962 were the impetus for further raising of the dikes as well as the shortening of the coast line so as to present as little surface area as possible to the punishment of the sea and the storms. Currently, 27% of the Netherlands is below sea level protected by dikes, dunes, and beach flats. Coastal management today consists of several levels. The dike slope reduces
3960-900: The North Sea are home to nature reserves including the Ythan Estuary , Fowlsheugh Nature Preserve, and Farne Islands in the UK and the Wadden Sea National Parks in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. These locations provide breeding habitat for dozens of bird species. Tens of millions of birds make use of the North Sea for breeding, feeding, or migratory stopovers every year. Populations of black-legged kittiwakes , Atlantic puffins , northern gannets , northern fulmars , and species of petrels , seaducks , loons (divers), cormorants , gulls , auks , and terns , and many other seabirds make these coasts popular for birdwatching . The North Sea
4059-661: The North Sea area; thence up the meridian of 0°53' West to the parallel of 61°00' North and eastward along this parallel to the coast of Norway, the whole of Viking Bank is thus included in the North Sea. On the East. The Western limit of the Skagerrak [A line joining Hanstholm ( 57°07′N 8°36′E / 57.117°N 8.600°E / 57.117; 8.600 ) and the Naze ( Lindesnes , 58°N 7°E / 58°N 7°E / 58; 7 )]. The average temperature
SY Hildegarde and SY Hiawatha - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-402: The North Sea during the Migration Period . They made successive invasions of the island from what is now the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany. The Viking Age began in 793 with the attack on Lindisfarne ; for the next quarter-millennium, the Vikings ruled the North Sea. In their superior longships , they raided, traded, and established colonies and outposts along the coasts of the sea. From
4257-554: The North Sea include species of wrack , among them bladder wrack , knotted wrack , and serrated wrack. Algae , macroalgal, and kelp , such as oarweed and laminaria hyperboria, and species of maerl are found as well. Eelgrass , formerly common in the entirety of the Wadden Sea, was nearly wiped out in the 20th century by a disease. Similarly, sea grass used to coat huge tracts of ocean floor, but have been damaged by trawling and dredging have diminished its habitat and prevented its return. Invasive Japanese seaweed has spread along
4356-559: The North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, which has been alleviated by the implementation of satellite navigation systems . The Devil's Hole lies 320 kilometres (200 mi) east of Dundee , Scotland. The feature is a series of asymmetrical trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres (12 and 19 mi) long, one and two kilometres (0.6 and 1.2 mi) wide and up to 230 metres (750 ft) deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank , Fisher Bank and Noordhinder Bank . The International Hydrographic Organization defines
4455-445: The North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing, whaling, and seaborne trade on the North Sea. The Romans established organised ports in Britain, which increased shipping and began sustained trade the diffusion of cultures and technologies from across or along the North Sea to Great Britain and Scandinavia and reliance by some prehistoric cultures on fishing, whaling, and seaborne trade on
4554-416: The North Sea until the 20th century, when numbers declined due to overfishing . Other factors like the introduction of non-indigenous species , industrial and agricultural pollution , trawling and dredging , human-induced eutrophication , construction on coastal breeding and feeding grounds, sand and gravel extraction, offshore construction , and heavy shipping traffic have also contributed to
4653-420: The North Sea, having the greatest effect on Scotland and the Faeroe Islands . The Dover Straits earthquake of 1580 is among the first recorded earthquakes in the North Sea measuring between 5.6 and 5.9 on the Richter scale. This event caused extensive damage in Calais both through its tremors and possibly triggered a tsunami , though this has never been confirmed. The theory is a vast underwater landslide in
4752-399: The North Sea. Crustaceans are also commonly found throughout the sea. Norway lobster , deep-water prawns , and brown shrimp are all commercially fished, but other species of lobster , shrimp , oyster , mussels and clams all live in the North Sea. Recently non-indigenous species have become established including the Pacific oyster and Atlantic jackknife clam . The coasts of
4851-399: The North Sea. The Romans established organised ports in Britain, which increased shipping and began sustained trade and many Scandinavian tribes participated in raids and wars against the Romans and Roman coinage and manufacturing were important trade goods. When the Romans abandoned Britain in 410, the Germanic Angles , Frisians , Saxons , and Jutes began the next great migration across
4950-448: The North Sea. The wave continues to travel northward in the Atlantic Ocean, and once past the northern tip of Great Britain, the Kelvin wave turns east and south and once again enters the North Sea. The eastern and western coasts of the North Sea are jagged, formed by glaciers during the ice ages . The coastlines along the southernmost part are covered with the remains of deposited glacial sediment. The Norwegian mountains plunge into
5049-438: The Orkney Islands through the mid-16th century, as both Sable Island and Orkney Islands lay within their normal range. Grey whales also resided in the North Sea but were driven to extinction in the Atlantic in the 17th century Other species have dramatically declined in population, though they are still found. North Atlantic right whales , sturgeon , shad , rays , skates , salmon , and other species were common in
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#17330856109225148-437: The Thistle Yard in 1904 included the 206grt/205TM steam yacht Maretanza (launched on 08/12/1903, Yard Number 171), commissioned by John Denison-Pender, 1st Baron Pender . Renamed Hildegarde around 1905, ownership changed to Albert H. Illingworth of Bradford. Ownership changed again in 1911 to Noel Pemberton Billing, from whom she was hired by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom) , London and then to
5247-417: The War Office and the board enabled men to be released to help with spring cultivation and harvest. Also in 1917, the Women's Land Army was created to provide substitutes for men called up to the forces. The Corn Production Act 1917 guaranteed minimum prices for wheat and oats, specified a minimum wage for agricultural workers and established the Agricultural Wages Board, to ensure stability for farmers and
5346-449: The Wash and the north Norfolk coast, most notably Saltfleet, Lynn Deep, Lynn Well, Boston Deep, Mablethorpe, Dudsen, and Cromer. A second grant was made available for vessel charter in the following financial year (1913-1914), to allow these studies on the SY Hildegarde to continue. By 1914 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries also started to make use of the steam yacht Hiawatha (Captain W.H. Stewart). Surveys were made throughout
5445-414: The adverse consequences of trawling on herring populations. This was in response to fears raised by parts of the industry at a public meeting held at Great Yarmouth in October 1912. These herring investigations used a variety of different nets including Shrimp trawl, Otter trawl, and herring drift nets. The vessel operated throughout the southern North Sea, but in particular on herring fishing grounds around
5544-406: The beginning of the Cold War , it had become clear that in the event of a nuclear strike against Britain, such an attack would have devastating effects on the food supply. The MAFF would play a central role in government emergency planning, especially with the Transition to War period that would occur in the event of NATO being involved in a large-scale conflict in Europe. Control of food stockpiles
5643-435: The coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark and low-lying areas of eastern England particularly around The Wash and Fens . Storm surges are caused by changes in barometric pressure combined with strong wind created wave action . The first recorded storm tide flood was the Julianenflut , on 17 February 1164. In its wake, the Jadebusen , (a bay on the coast of Germany), began to form. A storm tide in 1228
5742-435: The decline. For example, a resident orca pod was lost in the 1960s, presumably due to the peak in PCB pollution in this time period. The OSPAR commission manages the OSPAR convention to counteract the harmful effects of human activity on wildlife in the North Sea, preserve endangered species , and provide environmental protection. All North Sea border states are signatories of the MARPOL 73/78 Accords, which preserve
5841-555: The energy of the incoming sea, so that the dike itself does not receive the full impact. Dikes that lie directly on the sea are especially reinforced. The dikes have, over the years, been repeatedly raised, sometimes up to 9 metres (30 ft) and have been made flatter to better reduce wave erosion. Where the dunes are sufficient to protect the land behind them from the sea, these dunes are planted with beach grass ( Ammophila arenaria ) to protect them from erosion by wind, water, and foot traffic. Storm surges threaten, in particular,
5940-408: The existing responsibilities for agriculture and the fishing industry , a name that lasted until the Ministry was dissolved in 2002, at which point its responsibilities had been merged into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Until the Food Standards Agency was created, it was responsible for both food production and food safety, which was seen by some to give rise to
6039-420: The highest variability where there is fresh water inflow, such as at the Rhine and Elbe estuaries, the Baltic Sea exit and along the coast of Norway. The main pattern to the flow of water in the North Sea is an anti-clockwise rotation along the edges. The North Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean receiving the majority of ocean current from the northwest opening, and a lesser portion of warm current from
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#17330856109226138-720: The limits of the North Sea as follows: On the Southwest. A line joining the Phare de Walde (Walde Lighthouse, in France, 50°59'37"N, 1°54'53"E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'01.4"N 1°24'07.8"). northeast of Dover. On the Northwest. From Dunnet Head (58°40'20"N, 3°22'30"W) in Scotland to Tor Ness (58°47'N) in the Island of Hoy , thence through this island to the Kame of Hoy (58°55'N) on to Breck Ness on Mainland (58°58'N) through this island to Costa Head (3°14'W) and Inga Ness (59'17'N) in Westray through Westray, to Bow Head, across to Mull Head (North point of Papa Westray ) and on to Seal Skerry (North point of North Ronaldsay ) and thence to Horse Island (South point of
6237-431: The marine environment by preventing pollution from ships. Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands also have a trilateral agreement for the protection of the Wadden Sea , or mudflats , which run along the coasts of the three countries on the southern edge of the North Sea. The North Sea has had various names throughout history. One of the earliest recorded names was Septentrionalis Oceanus , or "Northern Ocean", which
6336-406: The ministry was buying wheat, meat and sugar. The agricultural situation then changed for the worse with a poor crop harvest, failure of the potato crop, declining harvest abroad and increased shipping losses. In 1916, Rowland Prothero was appointed President of the Board of Agriculture with a seat in the Cabinet and with the aim of stimulating food production. In December 1916, a Ministry of Food
6435-424: The new Board was the Rt. Hon. Henry Chaplin , there were 90 members of staff and the first annual estimate was for £55,000. From 1892 to 1913, its secretary, the most senior civil servant, was Sir Thomas Elliott . The board took responsibility for the Ordnance Survey in 1890, and it took responsibility for the Royal Botanic Gardens , Kew in 1903. Also in 1903, the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1903
6534-489: The north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands , and connects with the Norwegian Sea , which is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean . The North Sea is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi) and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres (13,000 cu mi). Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos , including Shetland , Orkney , and
6633-425: The ocean, the North Sea was strategically important through both world wars. The coast has diverse geology and geography. In the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark much of its Norwegian and Scottish coastlines respectively, whereas in the south, the coast consists mainly of sandy beaches, estuaries of long rivers and wide mudflats . Due to the dense population, heavy industrialisation , and intense use of
6732-467: The presence of German submarines in the area. HMS Managem was included on two Admiralty ‘Pink Lists’ (compiled every three to four days to show the stations and movements of ships) from 30 June 1918 and 11 November 1918. The vessel is recorded as being one of several ‘Auxiliary Patrol Yachts’ located in Egypt and the Red Sea . Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ( MAFF )
6831-434: The prevailing flood levels. It was only around the beginning of the High Middle Ages , in 1200 AD, that inhabitants began to connect single ring dikes into a dike line along the entire coast, thereby turning amphibious regions between the land and the sea into permanent solid ground. The modern form of the dikes supplemented by overflow and lateral diversion channels, began to appear in the 17th and 18th centuries, built in
6930-453: The sea and the area surrounding it, various environmental issues affect the sea's ecosystems. Adverse environmental issues – commonly including overfishing , industrial and agricultural runoff , dredging , and dumping, among others – have led to several efforts to prevent degradation and to safeguard long-term economic benefits. The North Sea is bounded by the Orkney Islands and east coast of Great Britain to
7029-410: The sea creating deep fjords and archipelagos . South of Stavanger, the coast softens, the islands become fewer. The eastern Scottish coast is similar, though less severe than Norway. From north east of England , the cliffs become lower and are composed of less resistant moraine , which erodes more easily, so that the coasts have more rounded contours. In the Netherlands, Belgium and in East Anglia
7128-924: The second Board of Agriculture (later MAFF) was the Tithe Commission, which was set up in 1841 under the Tithe Commutation Act 1836 and amalgamated with the Enclosure Commissioners and the Copyhold Commissioners to become the Lord Commissioners for England and Wales under the Settled Land Act 1882 , responsible to the Home Secretary , which became the Land Department of the new Board of Agriculture in 1889. Another predecessor
7227-413: The shores of the sea clogging harbours and inlets and has become a nuisance. Due to the heavy human populations and high level of industrialization along its shores, the wildlife of the North Sea has suffered from pollution, overhunting, and overfishing. Flamingos and pelicans were once found along the southern shores of the North Sea, but became extinct over the second millennium. Walruses frequented
7326-464: The smaller opening at the English Channel. These tidal currents leave along the Norwegian coast. Surface and deep water currents may move in different directions. Low salinity surface coastal waters move offshore, and deeper, denser high salinity waters move inshore. The North Sea located on the continental shelf has different waves from those in deep ocean water. The wave speeds are diminished and
7425-541: The sole buyer and importer of food and regulated prices, guaranteeing farmers prices and markets for their produce. The Marketing Boards, except for milk and hops, were suspended. Recruiting began for the Women's Land Army and, in 1940, food rationing was introduced. Lord Woolton succeeded William Morrison as Minister for Food. In 1941, the US Lend-Lease Act was passed under which food, agricultural machinery and equipment
7524-635: The southern North Sea (as far North as the Northumberland coast, along the Dutch coast and around East Anglia ) focused on plankton sampling and demersal fish resources – using a variety of bottom trawl nets. Nearly all of this work came to an abrupt end in August 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War . Scientist's logbooks from these historical surveys are now held by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Lowestoft and datasets have recently been digitized as part of
7623-403: The standardisation of grades and packaging and introduced the "National Mark", a trade mark denoting home-produced food of a defined quality for eggs, beef, apples and pears. The Agricultural Marketing Acts of 1931 and 1933 sought to organise farmers into co-operative marketing associations and created Marketing Boards for bacon, pigs, hops, milk and potatoes. The Import Duties Act 1932 introduced
7722-790: The uplands of the Fennoscandian Shield and the British Isles. This precursor of the current North Sea has grown and shrunk with the rise and fall of the eustatic sea level during geologic time. Sometimes it was connected with other shallow seas, such as the sea above the Paris Basin to the south-west, the Paratethys Sea to the south-east, or the Tethys Ocean to the south. During the Late Cretaceous, about 85 million years ago , all of modern mainland Europe except for Scandinavia
7821-497: The war on the side of Japan. During the First World War , Great Britain's Grand Fleet and Germany's Kaiserliche Marine faced each other in the North Sea, which became the main theatre of the war for surface action. Britain's larger fleet and North Sea Mine Barrage were able to establish an effective blockade for most of the war, which restricted the Central Powers ' access to many crucial resources. Major battles included
7920-406: The wave amplitudes are increased. In the North Sea there are two amphidromic systems and a third incomplete amphidromic system. In the North Sea the average tide difference in wave amplitude is between zero and eight metres (26 ft). The Kelvin tide of the Atlantic Ocean is a semidiurnal wave that travels northward. Some of the energy from this wave travels through the English Channel into
8019-508: The west and the northern and central European mainland to the east and south, including Norway , Denmark , Germany , the Netherlands , Belgium , and France . In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover , the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat , narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In
8118-399: Was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture , and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries , and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries . It attained its final name in 1955 with the addition of responsibilities for the British food industry to
8217-519: Was a scattering of islands. By the Early Oligocene , 34 to 28 million years ago , the emergence of Western and Central Europe had almost completely separated the North Sea from the Tethys Ocean, which gradually shrank to become the Mediterranean as Southern Europe and South West Asia became dry land. The North Sea was cut off from the English Channel by a narrow land bridge until that
8316-574: Was an important part of plans for during and after war, to feed survivors until a normal stockpile could be established. A large network of buffer depots containing foodstuffs, known as the Strategic Food Stockpile, were maintained by the MAFF. The primary purpose of the stockpile was to serve as a food reserve; in the period leading up to a war major food producers would be However, they had a limited variety and supply, and were not intended to provide
8415-560: Was breached by at least two catastrophic floods between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago. Since the start of the Quaternary period about 2.6 million years ago , the eustatic sea level has fallen during each glacial period and then risen again. Every time the ice sheet reached its greatest extent, the North Sea became almost completely dry, the dry landmass being known as Doggerland , whose northern regions were themselves known to have been glaciated. The present-day coastline formed after
8514-616: Was cited by Pliny . He also noted that the Cimbri called it Morimarusa – "Dead Sea". The name "North Sea" probably came into English, however, via the Dutch Noordzee , who named it thus either in contrast with the Zuiderzee ("South Sea"), located south of Frisia , or because the sea is generally to the north of the Netherlands. Before the adoption of "North Sea", the names used in English were "German Sea" or "German Ocean", referred to as
8613-629: Was converted to a salvage vessel and between November 1917 to 1919 she was employed on Admiralty service as the La Valette . She was eventually (in 1966) converted into a cargo vessel and ended her life as B. Kartal in Turkey , where she was finally broken up in 1982. In January 1910, on instruction from the Chancellor of the Exchequer , HM Treasury passed responsibility for North Sea fishery investigations to
8712-576: Was created under the New Ministries & Secretaries Act 1916 and Lord Devonport appointed Food Controller to regulate the supply and consumption of food and to encourage food production. A Food Production Department was established by the Board of Agriculture in 1917 to organise and distribute agricultural inputs, such as labour, feed, fertiliser and machinery, and increase output of crops. Provision of labour provided considerable difficulty as many men working on farms had enlisted but co-operation between
8811-447: Was declared on 3 September 1939. The UK entered the war well prepared for the maintenance of supplies of food but with less than 40% of the country's needs produced at home. The Ministry of Food was formed on 8 September and William Morrison was appointed Minister. The Scientific Food Committee was established in May 1940 and outlined a basal diet of 2000 calories. The Ministry of Food became
8910-497: Was established in 1937 and was then constituted as the Ministry of Food on the outbreak of war in 1939. The Minister of Agriculture was given powers to regulate the cultivation and management of land, end tenancies, even take possession of land, under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 . On 1 September 1939 many of these powers were delegated to county War Agricultural Executive Committees ("War Ags"). The Second World War
9009-464: Was imported from the US and Argentina and refrigerated merchant ships were equipped with guns from April 1915. Meat prices were controlled from September 1917, and meat became scarce. Milk production fell during the war by about 25% and condensed milk imports rose from 49,000 tonnes to 128,000 tonnes. Lord Rhondda died on 1 July 1918 and was succeeded by John Clynes , MP. The armistice treaty ending World War I
9108-472: Was passed to transfer certain powers and duties relating to the fishing industry from the Board of Trade to what then became the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. In 1904, the board appointed honorary agricultural correspondents throughout the country to liaise with the Board on Regional Matters and to give advice to farmers. In 1911, responsibility for all agricultural matters in Scotland except animal health
9207-515: Was powered by a single screw propeller and a steam engine constructed by R & W Hawthorn, Newcastle. Over her long lifetime she had many changes of ownership and name changes (and was variously known as the Clara , Polygon , La Valette , Akbas and Yeni Gundogdu ), but between 1913 and 1915 she had reverted to the name Hiawatha and was owned by Noel Pemberton Billing and registered in London . In 1916 she
9306-558: Was preceded, however, by an earlier Board of Agriculture , founded by royal charter on 23 August 1793 as the Board or Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture and Internal Improvement, which lasted until it was dissolved in June 1822. Though its founders hoped the board would become a department of state it was never more than a private society which spread useful knowledge and encouraged improvements in farming. A significant predecessor of
9405-613: Was requisitioned by the Admiralty and armed with a 12 pdr naval gun. She served in the ‘special yacht squadron’ as a wireless-equipped armed patrol Group Leader and operated throughout the Mediterranean and Gulf of Suez . Notably she was stationed off Atlit in Israel and used to relay espionage messages from operatives onshore (and briefly used by the Jewish "Nili" espionage group). In April 1917,
9504-594: Was sent from the US to the UK. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Food were merged in 1955, becoming the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In the 1970s, the IRA detonated some explosives in front of the Ministry of Agriculture building in Whitehall, killing one man and injuring 215. Two other bombs that had been set to go off at the same time were defused by military and police experts. Ten suspects were taken into Metropolitan Police custody. By
9603-425: Was signed on 11 November 1918. Following the war, the Food Controller resigned in 1919 and the Ministry of Food progressively wound down and closed on 31 March 1921. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1919 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 5 . c. 91) abolished the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries and created the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, which took on the powers of the Board and the remaining functions of
9702-708: Was the Cattle Plague Department , set up by the Home Office to deal with an outbreak of rinderpest in London in June 1865. This was renamed the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council in 1869 and became part of the new Board of Agriculture in 1889. The Board of Agriculture Act 1889 , passed on 12 August, established the Board of Agriculture and combined all government responsibilities for agricultural matters in one department. The first President of
9801-425: Was transferred to a newly created Board of Agriculture for Scotland . Meanwhile, the country was increasingly becoming dependent on imported food. By 1914, the output of home-grown food only met one-third of the country's needs. The First World War was declared on 4 August 1914. Good harvests and little interruption to imports of food during the first two years of meant that there were no shortages of food, though
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