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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Europe and Mediterranean

Europe and Mediterranean

Sweden

Cold, quiet northern seas: kelp forests, harbour seals and very old Baltic wrecks, best in summer.

Calm water between pine covered islands in the Stockholm archipelago
Stockholm archipelago · Photo: Erik Nyberg on Unsplash
Exploring

Ethics pass, open for travel. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard. Checked by Ocean Calling on 30 Sep 2026. Sources: Kosterhavet National Park, Wikipedia; Kosterhavets nationalpark, Sveriges nationalparker (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency).

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The US State Department rates Sweden at Level 2, exercise increased caution, because of terrorism. Smartraveller advises normal safety precautions and notes an elevated domestic terror alert, plus ticks from March to November. Sources: Smartraveller travel advice, Sweden Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

FreedivingScubaSnorkellingWrecksWildlife watching

Why Sweden

Sweden is cold-water ocean travel, and we want to be honest that it is a special interest. On the west coast, Kosterhavet became Sweden's first marine national park in 2009. It holds more than 6,000 marine species, kelp forests, shallow snorkel trails and the biggest harbour seal colony in Sweden. Its cold-water coral reefs live deeper than 40 m, and since late 2025 diving is closed there to let them recover. Nearby, the Gullmar fjord at Lysekil is a deep fjord with rich small life. In the Baltic, the low salt water keeps old wooden wrecks very well, which is why the Vasa ship could be raised almost whole. Wrecks from before 1850 are protected: you can look, never touch or take. The sea is about 17 to 18°C in August and close to freezing in winter, the water is often green and not so clear, and good suits matter. Seals and porpoises are watched from a calm distance, never approached.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

KazakhstanRussiaNorwayGreenlandFranceTurkmenistanArmeniaSwedenBelarusUkrainePolandAustriaHungaryMoldovaRomaniaLithuaniaLatviaEstoniaGermanyBulgariaGreeceTurkeyAlbaniaCroatiaSwitzerlandLuxembourgBelgiumNetherlandsPortugalSpainIrelandItalyDenmarkUnited KingdomIcelandAzerbaijanGeorgiaSloveniaFinlandSlovakiaCzechiaBosnia and Herz.MacedoniaSerbiaMontenegroKosovoKosterhavet National Park, SwedenGullmar fjord and Lysekil, SwedenStockholm archipelago, SwedenKullaberg, Sweden

When to go

Jun-Sep. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass

Meets the Ocean Calling standard.

Kosterhavet became Sweden's first marine national park in 2009 and holds the country's largest harbour seal colony, but the seals have been declining since about 2017 and pups at the main colony have halved. Diving is closed at six cold water coral sites deeper than 40 m. We snorkel the protected shallows in summer and watch seals and porpoises from a calm distance, never approaching them, and the seal areas stay closed to boats and people within 100 m from 15 May to 15 July.

Checked 30 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Sweden

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Kosterhavet National Park

Exploring

Sweden's first marine national park, with kelp forests, snorkel trails and the country's largest harbour seal colony.

🤿 In the water: Kelp forests and seaweed meadows, Crabs, flatfish and big oysters in the shallows, Sponges, sea squirts and anemones on the rock walls, Cold-water fish of the Skagerrak

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Harbour seals (from a calm distance, the seal areas are closed to boats and people within 100 m from 15 May to 15 July), Grey seals (sometimes), Sea birds and terns on the outer islands

When: Jun-Sep. Summer is the only easy time. The sea is about 17 to 18°C in August and much colder the rest of the year. The cold-water coral reefs are deeper than 40 m and closed to diving.

Gullmar fjord and Lysekil

Exploring

Sweden's only true threshold fjord, deep and cold, with rich small life along the walls.

🤿 In the water: Cuttlefish and small crabs, Sea pens and firework anemones on the soft bottom, Kelp and rocky walls near the fjord mouth, Dragonets and gurnards

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Harbour seals (from the boat or shore)

When: Jun-Sep. The fjord is about 40 m deep at the mouth and near 120 m inside. Cold water all year, with a clear thermocline in summer. A drysuit is the usual choice for scuba.

Stockholm archipelago

Exploring

Thousands of islands and very old Baltic wrecks, kept by the low-salt water, with grey seals on the outer skerries.

🤿 In the water: Historic wooden wrecks (look, never touch or take), Baltic fish like perch and pike in the brackish bays

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Grey seals (from a calm distance on the outer islands), White-tailed eagles

When: Jun-Sep. Wreck diving is for trained cold-water divers, often in a drysuit, with low light and a few metres of visibility. Some wrecks have diving bans. The Vasa Museum shows what the Baltic can keep.

Kullaberg

Exploring

Rocky drop-offs at the Öresund entrance, liked by Swedish freedivers, with seals and porpoises in the area.

🤿 In the water: Rock walls and kelp, Wrasse, crabs and small reef life of the north

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Harbour porpoises (from the shore or boat, never approached), Grey and harbour seals

When: Jun-Sep. Late summer is the warmest. Wind from the west can make the sea rough and cloudy.

Animals

Animals recorded in Sweden

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Land animals
Spotted harbor seal lifting its head out of calm waterHarbor sealPhoca vitulinaSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBasking shark swimming underwater in green water off Argyll, ScotlandBasking sharkCetorhinus maximusSeen in 23 countries in the AtlasEndangeredGrey seal resting on a seaweed rock in Northumberland, UKGrey sealHalichoerus grypusSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHarbour porpoise rolling at the surface off Berry Head, DevonHarbour porpoisePhocoena phocoenaSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLion's mane jellyfish with long hair-like tentacles, Highland, ScotlandLion's mane jellyfishCyanea capillataSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasNot EvaluatedMoon jellyfish in a harbour in Zeeland, NetherlandsMoon jellyfishAurelia aurita and other Aurelia speciesSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasNot EvaluatedA young ringed seal of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Taskisenperä marina in Oulu, FinlandBaltic ringed sealPusa hispida botnicaSeen in 4 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHumpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableOrcas surfacing close together in calm Arctic Norwegian watersOrca (killer whale)Orcinus orcaSeen in 55 countries in the AtlasData DeficientBlue whale blowing a tall spout off San DiegoBlue whaleBalaenoptera musculusSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasEndangeredPod of common dolphins surfacing in calm blue seaCommon dolphinDelphinus delphisSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernFin whale surfacing, showing its white right lower jawFin whaleBalaenoptera physalusSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBump-head sunfish swimming in blue water off Nusa PenidaOcean sunfish (mola)Mola molaSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasVulnerableMinke whale surfacing and exhaling, seen from aboveCommon minke whale (North Atlantic)Balaenoptera acutorostrataSeen in 30 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo long-finned pilot whales surfacing side by sideLong-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala melasSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernStriped dolphin leaping, dark flank stripe clearly visibleStriped dolphinStenella coeruleoalbaSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernDwarf minke whaleBalaenoptera acutorostrata (dwarf form)Seen in 30 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernWild beluga lifting its head from the brown water near Churchill, ManitobaBeluga whaleDelphinapterus leucasSeen in 10 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernOceanic whitetip shark with pilot fish in sunlit Red Sea waterOceanic whitetip sharkCarcharhinus longimanusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredSilky shark swimming near the surface in blue waterSilky sharkCarcharhinus falciformisSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBowhead whale head with twin blowholes breaking the surfaceBowhead whaleBalaena mysticetusSeen in 8 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernA male northern bottlenose whale lifting its head above the surface in the Gully, Nova Scotia, during a research expeditionNorthern bottlenose whaleHyperoodon ampullatusSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedShortfin mako shark at Condor Bank in the North Atlantic, AzoresShortfin makoIsurus oxyrinchusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSpiny dogfish resting on the seabed at the Josephine Marie shipwreck, Stellwagen Bank National Marine SanctuarySpiny dogfishSqualus acanthiasSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAtlantic white-sided dolphin leaping clear of the sea, showing its pale flank stripeAtlantic white-sided dolphinLagenorhynchus acutusSeen in 12 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernWhite-beaked dolphin surfacing, head and beak at the water lineWhite-beaked dolphinLagenorhynchus albirostrisSeen in 14 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAtlantic puffin spreading its wings on a cliff in IcelandAtlantic puffinFratercula arcticaSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasVulnerableTwo Humboldt penguins on a rocky ledge, one with its head tipped backHumboldt penguinSpheniscus humboldtiSeen in 6 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernAtlantic bluefin tuna leaping out of choppy water, recorded in Hovedstaden, DenmarkAtlantic bluefin tunaThunnus thynnusSeen in 39 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernThree black-browed albatrosses with their bills together at a Steeple Jason Island colony, against blue skyBlack-browed albatrossThalassarche melanophrisSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernA single silvery herring angled through deep blue water off Skjervoy, northern NorwayAtlantic herringClupea harengusSeen in 21 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernWhite-tailed eagle in flight low over calm water with a fish in its talons, near Raftsund, Lofoten, NorwayWhite-tailed eagleHaliaeetus albicillaSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernAmerican flamingo wading in shallow water with its head lowered toward the surface, Yucatán, MexicoAmerican flamingoPhoenicopterus ruberSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasLives on landLeast ConcernRinged seal lying on snow and ice, dark with pale ring markings on its backRinged sealPusa hispidaSeen in 13 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHarp seal raising its head and chest out of green water with spray around itHarp sealPagophilus groenlandicusSeen in 10 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedGreenland shark swimming just above the seabed in deep water, filmed by a research vehicleGreenland sharkSomniosus microcephalusSeen in 8 countries in the AtlasVulnerableGreat cormorant perched on a branch, with white head plumes and a glossy blue-black backGreat cormorantPhalacrocorax carboSeen in 90 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHuge flock of sooty shearwaters flying low over the sea beside a rocky coastSooty shearwaterArdenna griseaSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedClose view of a northern gannet face, with pale blue eyes and a golden headNorthern gannetMorus bassanusSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScopoli's shearwater skimming just above calm blue waterScopoli's shearwaterCalonectris diomedeaSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLeach's storm-petrel in flight over water, wings spread, with a pale patch at the base of the tailLeach's storm-petrelHydrobates leucorhousSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasVulnerableManx shearwater banking just above the sea, white underparts and dark upperparts visibleManx shearwaterPuffinus puffinusSeen in 34 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat shearwater flying low over calm water, its reflection belowGreat shearwaterArdenna gravisSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernEuropean shag sitting on its nest of dry grass, dark green-tinged plumage and yellow gapeEuropean shagGulosus aristotelisSeen in 31 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo pygmy cormorants perched on a bare branchPygmy cormorantMicrocarbo pygmaeusSeen in 26 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a small-spotted catshark head, with dark spots, resting on the seabedSmall-spotted catshark (lesser spotted dogfish)Scyliorhinus caniculaSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernNorthern fulmar sitting on a cliff ledge, facing the cameraNorthern fulmarFulmarus glacialisSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernVelvet belly lanternshark swimming just above a dark seabed, with a violet sheen along its flankVelvet belly lanternsharkEtmopterus spinaxSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasVulnerableThornback ray swimming over a rocky seabed in shallow green waterThornback rayRaja clavataSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedStarry ray resting on a sandy seabed, with a spotted back and thorns along the tailStarry ray (thorny skate)Amblyraja radiataSeen in 12 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBlue skateDipturus batisSeen in 9 countries in the AtlasCritically Endangered
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