The area is characterized by the many islands and smaller fishing villages often situated around a harbour. The fishing industry still plays a significant role in the area and most fishermen in the area has their harbour in Havstenssund or in Grebbestad just south of the area and their main catch is shrimp. The area also contains several marinas, the larger ones in Havstenssund and Grebbestad as well as the larger town of Tanumshede a bit inland. The east part of the area is dominated by forest and agriculture. Large parts of the area is protected as natural reserves and the “Kosterhavets nationalpark”. Tourism is today the most important source of income in the area and is dominated by recreational boating as well as golfing. 

 

The area is divided into 3 sub-areas depending on the habitat type that is dominating in each part of the area. The sub-areas are defined as archipelago to the west, fjord system in the centre and coastal inland to the east. These areas were  given the names archipeloag, Sannäs fjord and Tanumshede. The archipelago area is dominated by islands of different sizes where some are situated in the national park of Kosterhavet as well as in natural reserves. The main activity in this part is recreational boat traffic and fishing. The central area is called Sannäs fjord and is characterized by the fjord cutting in to the landscape. This sub-division has two bigger communities; Sannäs and Havstensund, both communities has small boat harbors and Havstensund has a marina with a marine petrol station as well as a fishing harbour with a smaller number of fishing boats. The golf course is situated in this sub-area as well as a no longer active canning industry. The last sub-area is the Tanumnshede where the city of Tanumnhede is located in the southern part. This landscape is dominated by forrest and agriculture activities, here is also the E6 higway and the railroad present.