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Useful information about diving
Naturally, all that lovely water surrounding Denmark can be enjoyed from more than just the surface - diving and diving instruction while on holiday in Denmark will help you to really make the most of this
exciting element. The sea is "public property" but lakes and rivers are often privately owned and many are inaccessible. Freshwater areas are very vulnerable environments and subaqua fishing there is banned.
There are a number of conditions to be met while diving in Danish waters:
Divers should note that some places have very powerful currents that you cannot swim against. So all diving should be monitored from a boat or from land. If diving from a boat, display international signal
flag ALFA as a divers' flag (white and blue).
In the event of a diving accident, call the Admiral Danish Fleet (Søværnets Operative Kommando - SOK) in Århus either on VHF, channel 16 or on mobile phone number 89 43 30 99. If the accident is not serious,
and no immediate assistance is required by helicopter, you can still call SOK, as it is in direct contact with doctors specialising in diving incidents. In case of decompression sickness requiring treatment in a
pressure tank, the patient will be taken to Rigshospitalet, Holmen in Copenhagen or the Naval station in Frederikshavn.
Under Danish Law, each vessel must have one life jacket per person. Divers can use their buoyancy aids.
Only approved, controlled and properly marked oxygen tanks can be used. Otherwise the tanks will be rejected at the filling stations. Tanks not approved in Denmark can be used, however, as long as they are approved in your own country.
When launching boats, you should be aware that driving on the beach is prohibited unless the signage indicates otherwise. We therefore recommend using the ramps available at the harbours along the coast.
Diving in Denmark is banned in only a very few places - protected areas or nature reserves.
Subaqua fishing requires a fishing permit that can be obtained by people aged between 18 and 67. You must not fish underwater within a distance of 565m from fishing nets, e.g. seabed line. Harpoons and hand-held spears may only have single points with serrated edges. Note that underwater fishing may be prohibited in some places, e.g. in Øresund, from Helsingør (Kronborg) to north of Køge.
There are many wrecks in Danish waters, some of which are of value for cultural and historical reasons as well as for salvage. Unless there is a diving ban, divers can photograph and hunt near these wrecks without
obtaining special permission. However, you may not take any object or part of the wreck as a souvenir. If a wreck is younger than 100 years old, you can apply to the Royal Danish Administration of Navigation and Hydrography for permission to take souvenirs. If a wreck is more than 100 years old, you must not touch, remove or tamper with anything. If you find an uncharted wreck that seems to be more than 100 years old, you must report it to the Danish Forest and Nature Agency, tel.: 39 47 20 00.
Things found on the seabed not associated with a wreck are called casual finds. Casual finds may be raised if they are less than 100 years old. If they are older, they must not be touched, removed or tampered with and you must report the find to the State Antiquary, Nationalmuseets Skibshistoriske Laboratorium, tel.: 42 35 64 29. The right to raise casual finds applies exclusively to people with Danish nationality who have spent at least two years in Denmark.
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