Vlaamse Banken (Flemish Banks) marine protected area

Special area for conservation in the south-western Belgian part of the North Sea, designated by Royal Decree of 16 October 2012 (formerly 'Trapegeer-Stroombank'), ~1099 km2, bordering the French 'Bancs de Flandres' and extending ~45 km offshore. Spearfishing is not a recognised recreational method anywhere in the Belgian North Sea; within this protected area marine-environment protection rules reinforce the absence of any spearfishing regime. Center point lies off the Belgian coast (De Panne/Nieuwpoort/Ostend sector).