The German Bight (; ; ; ; ; sometimes also the German Bay) is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east (the Jutland peninsula). To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to twelve kilometres wide at the location of the German Bight. The Frisian islands and the nearby coastal areas are collectively known as Frisia. The southern portion of the bight is also known as the Heligoland Bight. Between 1949 and 1956 the BBC Sea Area Forecast (Shipping Forecast) used "Heligoland" as the designation for the area now referred to as German Bight. Use The German bight contains some of Germany's largest national parks by area, the aim of which is to protect the Wadden Sea a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the "nature" category. Due to being divided among three different states of Germany those protected areas fall into three different national parks, namely the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park and the small Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park mostly around the island of Neuwerk. Despite or maybe because of its unique natural environment, the German Bight is also subject to intense economic and recreational use with the Wadden Sea being one of Germany's most popular tourist destinations. Mudflat hiking is a particularly popular tourist activity usually undertaken with licensed guides employed by the national park service. Fishing and mussel banks (particularly oysters) are other important economic activities with crangon crangon a particularly well regarded product of local fishing. Energy extraction also plays an important role with Germany's only offshore oil rig (Mittelplate) located in the German Bight and an increasing penetration by offshore wind farms such as Alpha Ventus. While offshore wind farms are more expensive to build and require more expensive operations for maintenance and repair than land-based wind turbines the steadier winds out at sea allow for steadier power output and a higher capacity factor. Both these advantages are important enough to justify the higher cost as Germany is in the process of phasing out nuclear energy and plans to phase out all fossil fuels thereafter leaving few dispatchable electricity sources. Traffic The German Bight has also played an important role as a shipping lane