Skerjafjordur, Kopavogur

Skerjafjörður, within the Kópavogur town limits, was protected as a habitat in 2012. The aim of the protection of Skerjafjörður is to preserve the ecosystems of the shore, the beach and shallow waters, especially birdlife. Furthermore, the aim is to preserve the outdoor activity and educational value of the area which contains biodiversity and is consistent with the protection of bird habitats.

The Skerjafjörður area as a whole has international conservation value for migratory bird species, such as red knot and brant geese, and it has lively seaweed beaches, mudflats and shallow waters that create a foundation for varied birdlife all year round. The area is also important for eelgrass and common sea meadowgrass that have limited spread in Iceland, with eelgrass being one of the main food sources of brant geese. Fossvogur and Kópavogur contain a large part of the mudflats in the Skerjafjörður area. The educational value of the area is high as regards ecosystems, and access to the area is good. The coastline is popular for outdoor activities and sailing and other ocean sports are practiced in Fossvogur.

When deciding on the protection, the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern 1979) was taken into account, pursuant to the Official Journal C 17/1993, Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro 1992), pursuant to the Official Journal C 3/1995 and the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar 1971), pursuant to the Official Journal C 1/1978.

The habitat covers an area of 62.6 ha.