Oceana thanks the Dutch Postcode Lottery for generous grant to fund North Sea expedition

Press Release Date: January 28, 2016

Location: Copenhagen

Contact:

Marta Madina | email: mmadina@oceana.org | tel.: Marta Madina

Oceana acknowledges the Dutch Postcode Lottery for a generous grant of €1.1 million which will fund the first research expedition into the North Sea by the international ocean conservation organisation. The at-sea work will focus on offshore areas in The UK, Denmark, Norway and especially The Netherlands where few data are currently available. The imagery and documentation obtained will be used to advocate for a larger network of marine protected areas in the region.

“We are extremely grateful to the Dutch Postcode Lottery for this generous grant that will be fully allocated to a research expedition in the North Sea later this year. The data garnered will provide a more comprehensive understanding of offshore habitats and species and advance the process to designate new marine protected areas,” explains Lasse Gustavsson, Executive Director for Oceana in Europe. “Oceana believes that an improved protection of the North Sea will ultimately contribute to overcoming one of the biggest challenges faced by its coastal countries: the need for fish stock recovery”.

 

© OCEANA/ Eduardo de Ana

 

Notes to the Editor

In 2016, the Postcode Lottery donated a record amount of 328 million euros to charity announced at the annual Good Money Gala at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam on Tuesday. The record donation is possible thanks to its 2.7 million loyal members. More than 100 charities gathered to discover the amount they would receive this year. Notable attendees included George Clooney, new ambassador of the Postcode Lottery, as a guest of honour.

Since 1989, the Dutch Postcode Lottery has been raising funds to support organisations working for a fairer, greener world. Fifty percent of its income goes to charitable and non-profit organisations. The lottery has grown to become the Netherlands’ biggest charity lottery. Since its founding, the lottery has dispensed over 4.7 billion euros to its beneficiaries.

Read the full press release here (Dutch) or the fact sheet (English).