Vlakte van de Raan marine protected area

Special area for conservation in the north-eastern Belgian part of the North Sea, adjacent to the Dutch border, re-established as a protected nature reserve by the Royal Decree of 22 May 2019 (marine spatial plan 2020-2026) after an earlier 2008 annulment; protects shallow sandbanks and reefs. Spearfishing has no recreational regime in the Belgian North Sea and the protected-area status reinforces the prohibition. Center point off the Belgian coast near the Dutch frontier (Zeebrugge/Knokke-Heist sector).