Despite its small size, Denmark supports more wintering seaducks than any other country in Europe. It was thus natural that a Dane, Karsten Laursen, from the National Environmental Research Institute, set up the Wetlands International (IWRB it was then) Seaduck Database and became the first Seaduck Specialist Group Co-ordinator in 1989. A few years before, Stefan had been hired and soon assumed responsibility for the co-ordination of the Danish aerial surveys, becoming the Danish national coordinator for the International Waterbird Census (IWC), a responsibility that he holds to the present day. In 1990, Stefan organized a course in aerial count techniques in Denmark (repeated in Estonia in 1993) which resulted in the Manual for Aeroplane and Ship Surveys of Waterfowl and Seabirds.

Stefan took over as Seaduck Database Co-ordinator in 1993 and was functioning co-ordinator of the Seaduck SG from then on until formally appointed chair of the Seaduck SG in 1995. The group has published nine issues of the Seaduck SG Bulletin in the period 1992 to 2002.

During the winter of 1993, a major survey of all the Baltic marine areas was carried out in cooperation between the national co-ordinators of the countries. Stefan coordinated the aerial counts and later presented the results and new estimates for most European seaduck species at Anatidae 2000 Conference in 1994.

The Seaduck SG has mainly been active in Europe although regional co-ordinators have been appointed for North America and Asia. The group has been living through many ups and downs, sleeping through extended periods of inactivity unlike most other groups. Monitoring of seaducks is vital, but being based on aerial and ship surveys is very expensive and cannot be carried out annually. In the coming winter of 2007 a comprehensive survey of the Baltic region is planned. It is feared that it will reveal serious declines in a number of European Seaduck species. 9