International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise

delta • May 17, 2015

Baltic Harbour Porpoise Needs Protection

The Harbour Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) is the only species of cetacean native to the Baltic Sea. It is estimated to consist of approximately 450 animals and is classified by the Swedish Species Information Centre (Artdatabanken) to be critically endangered. Porpoises are also listed in the EU Habitats Directive and protected by UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme) under the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic – ASCOBANS.

Courtesy of Olga Caprotti

In 2002, ASCOBANS declared the third Sunday in May of each year as the “International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise” (IDBHP) in order to raise awareness of the critical situation.

The main threats to the Harbour Porpoise

The significant decline is largely due to human activities. Despite imposed measurements such as the EU banning drift-net fishing in the Baltic Sea in 2008 as well as commanding the use of ¨pingers¨ – acoustic porpoise detectors – on fishing gear, by-catch is still considered the greatest threat through the entanglement in fishing nets.

Other severe threats include underwater noise (for example due to boat traffic and construction of wind farms and gas pipelines), over-fishing and habitat degradation (for example due to oil extraction). Also, being a top predator, porpoises are vulnerable to the increasing levels of environmental toxins – harmful substances – such as flame retardants and surface coatings.

SAMBAH results: relative density of porpoises © SAMBAH

Data on distribution and abundance

During 2011 to 2013, a research project called SAMBAH (Static Acoustic Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Harbour Porpoise) identified the breeding and feeding grounds of the porpoises through acoustic monitoring across the Baltic Sea. The results are shown on this map:

The data discovered that during the summer breeding season, when females give birth and mating takes place, the Baltic population has been found to be concentrated mainly around the Midsjö offshore banks southeast of Öland. That is, their reproduction takes place mainly in Swedish waters. This kind of information is crucial in order to determine which measures should be taken to ensure their effective protection.

 

CCB proposals for action

Urgent action is needed to save the Baltic Harbour Porpoise from extinction and raising public awareness plays an important role in supporting effective conservation action. CCB has published brochures , summarizing the critical situation of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise and proposals for action. Here are some of the needed actions:

  • establish more marine protected areas with particular focus on porpoises, and with measures aimed at protecting them such as seasonal restrictions on net-fishing, realigning shipping routes and restriction of underwater installations.
  • strengthen efforts to reduce bycatch in fishing nets through better implementation and more effective rules concerning acoustic transmitters.
  • limit the use of sonar frequencies below 150 kHz.
  • start a permanent monitoring program, starting where the population is denser, in order to increase knowledge about the species and its state and to improve conservation efforts.

Don't reopen the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Implement it.

By CCB • June 15, 2026
The European Commission's evaluation confirms what environmental NGOs across Europe have long argued: the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)'s challenge is not its design, but its implementation.

Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027

By CCB • June 10, 2026
The poor status and decline of many Baltic Sea fish populations have been thoroughly documented over several decades, indicating that the entire ecosystem is in great distress. So far, policy interventions have not reversed, or even halted, the negative trend concerning many of these populations. The European Commission itself recently recognised in its Common Fishery Policy (CFP) evaluation report that progress on stock rebuilding is lacking and the number of stocks “ threatened by collapse due to impaired recruitment has increased during the reporting period ”. Fish populations that once formed the cornerstone of the Baltic Sea fishery, such as the eastern and western Baltic cod and the western Baltic herring, are now doing so poorly that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is advising zero catch for these stocks. Yet, even with the targeted fishery being closed for some years now, none of these three stocks are showing sufficient signs of recovery. The condition (such as size and weight-at-age) of many flatfish populations, such as plaice, also raises alarm bells. The salmon spawning migration has fallen short of the target level in the past three years5. As a result, even the healthiest salmon stocks are now unlikely to produce enough smolts corresponding to sustainable levels in the coming years. To address the crisis facing Baltic populations and the broader ecosystem, political will and ambition to improve fisheries management, alongside full implementation of the CFP provisions, are needed. The recent INI report on the Baltic Sea Multi-Annual Plan shows that the European Parliament recognises the importance of ecosystem-based fisheries management as well as the need for consideration of environmental legislation when making decisions on fishing opportunities.6 Fisheries managers must now act swiftly and decisively on the commitment the Commission and Baltic Sea Member States made at last year’s October Agrifish Council to rebuild Baltic Sea stocks. This document presents the joint NGO recommendations regarding Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027, prioritising long-term ecosystem health and sustainable fisheries management over short-term economic interests. The recommendations are based on the ICES advice, the objectives and requirements of the CFP8 and the Baltic Multiannual Plan (MAP), specifically to apply the precautionary approach and implement an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management, and the objective of achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Last year’s overarching joint Briefing Series on TAC-setting, co-signed by almost 30 organisations across the EU and the UK, including environmental NGOs, recreational fishers, and fishing rights owners, remains valid and provides further context, background and detailed explanations on the cross-cutting issues raised in this document. Read the Joint NGO recommendations on Baltic Sea fishing opportunities for 2027 here .