February 24, 2011
Oceana Opens Copenhagen Office
BY: Emily Fisher
Big news from across the pond: Oceana is growing.
We have just opened a new office in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark and one of Europe’s greenest cities. Copenhagen is perched between two major bodies of water: the brackish Baltic Sea to the east and the North Sea and Atlantic to the west.
While the Baltic region has provided enormous amounts of seafood historically — most famously, cod — today the Baltic faces pressure from industrial fishing. In addition, Copenhagen is an important city for diplomacy, and Oceana’s European offices in Madrid and Brussels will be well complemented by a team in Copenhagen.
The leader of our new Copenhagen office is a familiar face at Oceana. Anne Schroeer has worked as an economist for Oceana in Madrid for years, and she brings an intimate knowledge of fisheries and European diplomacy to the job. She will have her hands full in the coming months staffing the new office and planning her campaigns, which will include on-the-water expeditions.
Here are a few fun facts about Copenhagen:
*Copenhagen is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager.
*In 2001 a large offshore wind farm was built just off the coast of Copenhagen at Middelgrunden. It produces about 4% of the city’s energy.
*Copenhagen is known as a mecca for cyclists. 36% of all citizens commute to work by bicycle — nearly 750,000 miles a day, all told.
*The city is home to one of the world’s best international badminton players, Peter Gade, who is ranked second in the world.
*As of 2009, Copenhagen had 13 Michelin star restaurants, the most of any Scandinavian city. The city is known for its open-face sandwiches, or smørrebrød.
But sandwiches and cycling aside, we’re thrilled to have a brand new presence in Copenhagen, and we look forward to seeing what our Danish colleagues will accomplish for the oceans.