Ringkøbing Fjord. 02/09/77; Region Midtjylland; 27,652 ha; 56°00'N 008°15'E. Added to the Montreux Record, 4 July 1990. Natura 2000 (SPA, SAC); Nature Conservation Area, Scientific Reserves. A big shallow, brackish inlet, surrounded by extensive areas of salt meadows. Water flow from fjord to sea is artificially controlled. The site is an internationally important area for breeding, wintering and staging numerous species of waterbirds. During the 1970s and 1980s serious problems of sedimentation and nutrient-enrichment caused by regulation of the River Skjern and runoff of agricultural nutrients triggered changes in ecological character which led to the registration of the site on the Montreux Record in 1990. Human activities include commercial fishing, reed harvesting, sheep grazing, hunting, and extensive farming. A Ramsar Advisory Mission visited the site in 1996, and since then management plans have been implemented. There are signs of generally improved water quality, return of submerged vegetation, and higher bird numbers in recent years. However, the total nitrogen load doesnt yet show a significant statistical decrease. Ramsar site no. 141. Most recent RIS information: 2012.