CMS grants the endangered Baltic Proper Harbour Porpoise the highest protection status following concerted action from NGOs

CCB • February 15, 2024

The common harbour porpoise is critically endangered in the central Baltic Sea and off the Iberian Peninsula, with only a few hundred individuals left. However, effective measures to enable the recovery of these special populations have so far been lacking. At the meeting of the UN Convention on Migratory Species (CMS COP14, 12-17 Feb 2024), the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise has now been included in Appendix I: This recognises this sub-population as critically endangered and emergency measures can be taken to save it. 

15 February 2024 (Joint Press Release) -
Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Humane Society International, Coalition Clean Baltic and ORCA made a decisive contribution to the decision. Last year, they submitted a joint report to CMS on the Concerted Action to call for stronger protections for the harbour porpoise populations in the Baltic Proper and off the Iberian Peninsula and to restore their habitats. As a result, the CMS member states of the EU submitted a proposal for the harbour porpoise to be included in Appendix I of the Convention, thereby granting it the highest protection status and enabling priority conservation measures to be taken. The uplisting has now been granted by CMS. The aim is to prevent, remove or mitigate obstacles to their seasonal migration and to control other factors that might endanger their survival. The main threats to the Baltic proper harbour porpoise include bycatch, underwater noise and pollution. 


"We are very pleased that the critical situation of these unique populations has been acknowledged; and we strongly encourage the countries around the Baltic Sea to take urgent action to ensure the survival of the only whale species native to the Baltic Sea", says Ida Carlén, formerly with the Coalition Clean Baltic, now Senior Policy Officer at the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. 


"The uplisting of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise to Appendix I of CMS is an important milestone that has been the result of years of hard work by NGOs. This positive outcome demonstrates the value and much-needed capacity that civil society can bring to international conservation objectives", says Ed Goodall, Head of intergovernmental engagement at WDC. 


The group of NGOs have long standing experience and have been working for decades in the development of marine conservation and policy, providing advice to governments and the EU as well as by raising awareness through campaigns and petitions. The uplisting of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise to Appendix I of CMS is a further step forward in the implementation of effective conservation measures to protect this population. 


END

 

Supporting information


The Harbour Porpoise is one of the smallest species within the larger family of whales, dolphins and porpoises. The genetically distinct Baltic Proper harbour porpoise sub-population is listed as Critically Endangered by IUCN as well as HELCOM, the regional seas convention in the Baltic Sea. There are only a few hundred individuals left in this population, which declined severely in the 1960-1970s due to being caught in fishing nets, particularly the highly deadly gillnet fisheries. They also suffer from high levels of toxic pollutants such as PCBs and dioxins. Due to ongoing pressure, the population has not recovered since.

 

Bycatch is the main threat to the only resident cetacean native to the Baltic Sea. However, environmental contaminants, underwater noise and the effects of climate change on the marine ecosystem, food availability and natural habitats also pose a threat to the harbour porpoise. 

 

In the process of the CMS Concerted Action, the NGO alliance of Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), Humane Society International (HSI), Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) and ORCA has also supported the so-called Jastarnia plan of ASCOBANS, a recovery plan for the Baltic harbour porpoise. This involves advising EU governments on measures to reduce bycatch. The NGOs maintain countries need to do much more to mitigate bycatch and implement and monitor effective conservation measures to help populations recover. 

 

The only survey on abundance and distribution of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise was conducted by the SAMBAH project in 2011-2013. In 2024-2025 a second survey, SAMBAH II, will be conducted, which will be critical in assessing the current status of the population. 

 

WDC conducted an awareness-raising campaign for the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise with the aim of achieving a year-round ban on gillnets in marine protected areas. A petition with more than 100,000 signatures was submitted to the German government in September 2021. WDC also initiated an open letter to the German government, signed by more than 100 cetacean experts from around the world, calling for effective measures to protect the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise. WDC's educational work continues to this day. 

 

CCB and been engaged in awareness raising activities for the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise during this period, through a number of publications, press releases, events and educational activities. A CCB #SavetheBalticPorpoise petition was delivered to the EU Commissioner for Environment, Ocean and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, in Helsinki, in November 2022 with over 120,000 signatures. Awareness raising and policy advocacy for this population remain as some of the main activities at CCB, with support of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC).  


CONTACT


Coalition Clean Baltic Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) 

has been active in the conservation of the Baltic Sea harbour porpoises for well over a decade. CCB has until recently coordinated two of the three ASCOBANS harbour porpoise conservation plans, and also works in other projects to improve the awareness and conservation status for the Baltic Sea harbour porpoise. 

 

Contact: Andrea Cervantes, andrea.cervantes@ccb.se 

and Ida Carlén, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, ida.carlen@naturskyddsforeningen.se   

 

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) 

has been working for over thirty years protecting whales and dolphins around the globe from the challenges they face every day. With extensive experience funding vital conservation, education and research projects, WDC is a global authority on whale and dolphin issues. 

 

Contact: Ed Goodall, ed.goodall@whales.org 

 

Humane Society International (HSI) 

is one of the largest and most effective animal protection organisations in the world, with offices in a number of European countries and elsewhere. It has a long history of working on marine wildlife issues including within the context of CMS, ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMS. 

 

Contact: Rodi Rosensweig, rrosensweig@humanesociety.org 

 

ORCA 

is a UK-based whale and dolphin conservation charity, dedicated to the long-term protection of whales, dolphins and porpoises throughout UK, European and global waters. ORCA has been collecting scientific data on the density, distribution and range of cetacean species within European waters since 1995, specialising in dedicated distance sampling survey effort, utilising citizen science and platforms of opportunity. 

 

Contact: Lucy Babey, lucy@orca.org.uk 

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 .

Call for Consultant / Expert : CCB Shadow Implementation Plan on the HELCOM Regional Action Plan for benthic habitat restoration

By CCB • June 2, 2026
About CCB Coalition Clean Baltic – CCB is a politically independent network, uniting 28 environmental non-profit organizations, as well as partners and experts from 11 countries surrounding the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the environment and natural resources of the Baltic Sea region by encouraging new and constructive approaches and engaging people to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. CCB Secretariat is based in Uppsala, Sweden. Background The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) from 2021 includes a commitment to develop a regional action plan for habitat and biotope restoration by 2026. This plan is expected to: Define qualitative and quantitative restoration targets Establish a prioritized list of restoration actions Provide an implementation toolbox of best practices and methods The scope of the HELCOM action plan focuses exclusively on benthic habitats and biotopes , with particular emphasis on active restoration measures . Adoption of the plan is foreseen at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in November 2026. Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) recognizes the importance of the HELCOM process but also the need to strengthen ambition, improve implementation guidance, consider a source-to-sea approach, and ensure long term ecological effectiveness . Therefore, a CCB Shadow Restoration Implementation Plan will complement and critically assess the HELCOM Restoration Action Plan. The purpose of the CCB Shadow Restoration Implementation Plan is to: Provide a science-based and practice-oriented complement to the HELCOM Restoration Action Plan Identify gaps, weaknesses, and missing elements in the HELCOM Restoration Action Plan Propose concrete, implementable actions, under a source-to-sea approach, to ensure effective restoration outcomes Strengthen alignment with the BSAP objectives and broader regional and EU policies Your Role You will compile the CCB Shadow Restoration Implementation Plan with aims to: 1. Assess the proposed HELCOM restoration measures , particularly their expected ecological impact by Reviewing proposed HELCOM actions for benthic habitats Evaluating whether actions are sufficient to achieve good environmental status Identifing missing measures, insufficient ambition, or unclear guidance 2. Define recommendations on how restoration should be implemented in practice including Required scale, intensity, and geographic coverage of actions Feasibility and effectiveness of active restoration methods 3. Propose additional actions and priorities , especially where the scope of the HELCOM action plan is insufficient, such as Integration of a source-to-sea approach for better ecological coherence Passive restoration measures Including actions on riverine systems (barrier removal, flow restoration) and coastal ecosystems (dunes, wetlands, lagoons) Incorporating important fish habitats and spawning/nursery areas, as well as ecosystem connectivity 4. Align HELCOM restoration efforts with other relevant policy frameworks , including the Baltic Sea Action Plan, Marine Action Plan, EU Biodiversity Strategy, Nature Restoration Regulation, Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, Water Framework Directive and Common Fisheries Policy. This is a Joint efforts with WWF Baltic Sea Programme The organisations, CCB and WWF Baltic Sea Program, will produce two separate documents with separate logos and will be presented at a joint side-event at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in November 2026. Actions for the Consultant/Expert & products to deliver The final document of the shadow restoration implementation plan Conduct interviews with all WA Leaders and MOs of CCB working on restoration to gather concrete input Share at the end all notes of the research and transcripts of interviews with MOs Bi-weekly call of consultant + CCB to check-in on progress, problems and next steps Publications/Sources CCB Restoration Guidelines https://irp.cdn-website.com/53007095/files/uploaded/CCB+Restoration+Guidelines_Update+October+2025.pdf CCB BSAP Shadow Plan: https://www.ccb.se/publication/Shadow%20Plan Profile A college degree, preferably in marine science, political science, environmental studies, social sciences, or a comparable field Experience in political campaigning, strategic communication, or advocacy, ideally in environmental, climate, nature, or marine conservation, preferably with an NGO Knowledge about relevant political settings and frameworks in the Baltic Sea (HELCOM, BSAP, MSFD, NRRL, ...) Experience in collaborating with coalitions, initiatives and civil society actors Initiative, independence and reliability working fully remotely Excellent written and spoken English are required Contract Terms Contract Type: can be structured as a consulting contract or a fixed-term employment (for candidates based in Sweden). We are open to discuss what works best depending on your situation. Time: From 15 June until 15 Oct 2026, at 50-75% work pace. Location: Remote position. Application Process: Should you be interested in applying for this position please send your CV (max. 2 pages) together with a personal letter (max. 1 page) before 9 June 2026 to: secretariat@ccb.se *** Being an international organization, CCB’s work is carried out in English. Applications submitted in any other language will not be considered. Incomplete applications (e.g. lacking either CV or personal letter) will be also not considered. We will be reviewing applications as they come in and encourage early applications. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. *** For inquiries , contact CCB Biodiversity Officer: andrea.cervantes@ccb.se Equal Opportunities CCB is an equal opportunity employer. In the application and hiring process, CCB will not discriminate against any individual based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property, disability, age, family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, economic and social situation.