Wattenmeer, Elbe-Weser-Dreieck. 26/02/76; Niedersachsen; 38,460 ha; 53°50'N 008°24'E. Special Protection Area EC Directive; Nature Reserve, National Park. Part of the Wadden Sea, with extensive mudflats, saltmarshes and islands. An internationally important area for numerous species of wintering and staging waterbirds and for breeding by low numbers of several species. Hunting is strictly controlled, and considerable ecological and geological research is carried out in the area. Knechtsand Island is slowly being eroded by the sea. Ramsar site no. 80.

The "Wadden Sea" Transboundary Ramsar Site was declared in 2015 and it includes 13 Ramsar Sites in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands: Site No. 356 in Denmark; Sites No. 501, 537, 80, 81, 82 in Germany; Sites No. 1252, 289, 2212, 2213, 2214, 2215, 2216 in the Netherlands.