Aquaculture and Environmental Regulations: The German Situation within the North Sea Bela H. Buck,* Gesche Krause,** Harald Rosenthal*** and Victor Smetacek**** ABSTRACT The use of the North Sea is extremely multi-faceted and highly competitive. Within the vast variety of regulations inside the EU and in Germany, the regulative framework relevant to aquaculture is not yet complete. This chapter provides a short summary of the current legislative framework on international, national, and regional levels, which pertain to the development of aquaculture in Germany. Next, it highlights the question of decision-making in the coastal zone within an integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) approach. It can be shown that there is an ample need for sufficient regulations to optimise the management of marine resources, especially with respect to further ecological and socio-economic sound aquaculture development. Within the ICZM framework for aquaculture manage- ment in the North Sea, we propose a scheme for further development and the establishment of an independent regulatory/advisory body, which encompasses all spatial levels. Additionally, we show which tools, such as DSS (e.g. GIS) and active participation, could be used in such a scheme in the decision-making process and what outcomes are to be expected at which stage. The article closes with a call for integrative action in Germany for the further promotion of aquaculture development by endorsing the idea of ICZM in order to sustain the ecological and economic potential of the North Sea while providing an alternative livelihood for coastal communities. A. Kirchner (ed.), International Maritime Environmental Law, 211–229. © 2003 Kluwer Law International. Printed in Great Britain. * Mr. Bela Hieronymus Buck is a Ph.D. candidate at the Foundation Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany). Contact: bb uck@a wi-bremer - ha v en.de. ** Ms. Gesche Krause is a Ph.D. candidate at the Systems Ecology Department, Stockholm University (Sweden); Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Bremen (Germany). *** Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Harald Rosenthal is professor at the University of Kiel (Germany), Institute for Marine Science, Department of Fishery Biology. **** Professor Dr. Victor Smetacek is Head of the Department Pelagic Ecosystems at the Foundation Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany). Contact: vsmetacek@a wi-bremerha v en.de.