New petition launched to save the Baltic harbour porpoise

CCB • April 20, 2022

With only a few hundred individuals left, the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise is critically endangered [1] and needs urgent protection. For this reason, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) launched the petition #SaveTheBalticPorpoise [2], addressing the Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Mr Virginijus Sinkevičius, and the Ministers of Environment, Fisheries and Defense in all countries around the Baltic Sea.

 

April 2022 – The Baltic Proper harbour porpoise, the only whale resident in the Baltic Sea which many don’t even know exists, is close to extinction. The most endangered whale in Europe needs concrete conservation measures to be implemented for its protection. On paper, the Baltic harbour porpoise and its habitat are “highly protected” under European Union law [3], both within and outside Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), but in practice, this has failed to generate effective conservation.

 

Underwater noise and bycatch [4], along with pollutants and ecosystem changes caused by overfishing and climate change, are the main threats against this cetacean species. Important steps have been taken recently by the European Commission [5], especially in relation to bycatch, but the work is still far from being completed to protect the population throughout its range and save it from extinction.

 

Therefore, we urge the Baltic countries to work together to:

  • Fully protect the harbour porpoise in designated Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) - today many lack proper protection against harmful fishing and underwater noise;
  • Stop harbour porpoise bycatch in the entire Baltic Sea - even a single Baltic porpoise dead in a fishing net could have a devastating impact on population survival;
  • Investigate the possible coexistence of harbour porpoise nature conservation and military underwater activities - Nature conservation and military defense must work together to protect the Baltic porpoise.

 

“We have recently seen the first small step towards protecting this critically endangered population, but it is not enough. We need to act strongly in a timely fashion or the population will be reduced to a point of no return”, says Ida Carlén, CCB Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Officer.

 

This petition is essential to raise attention and awareness to these animals and call on decision makers around the Baltic Sea to put in place concrete and urgent conservation measures. Scientific recommendations [6] and legal requirements are at Baltic Minister’s disposal to change course, setting higher ambitions and taking faster actions to save the Baltic porpoise in time.

 

Only if we act together we will be able to reach the goal and continue to see porpoises swimming in the Baltic Sea in the coming years.

 

 

CONTACT

Ida Carlén, CCB Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Officer: 
ida.carlen (at) ccb.se, +46 70 3133067

 

 

NOTES

CCB – Coalition Clean Baltic is a politically independent, non-profit association, which unites 23 member organizations and 1 observer, with over 850,000 members in all countries around the Baltic Sea. The main goal of CCB is to promote the protection and improvement of the Baltic Sea environment and its natural resources. More info at www.ccb.se.

 

 [1] All about the Baltic harbour porpoise: https://www.ccb.se/baltic-harbour-porpoise

and IUCN Red List, Phocoena phocoena Baltic Sea subpopulation: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/17031/98831650
 

[2] CCB petition to #SaveTheBalticPorpoise: https://you.wemove.eu/campaigns/save-the-baltic-harbour-porpoise and the landing page: https://www.ccb.se/save-the-baltic-porpoise

 

[3] https://www.ccb.se/bycatch-of-critically-endangered-baltic-sea-harbour-porpoise-must-stop 


[4] Bycatch is unintended catch of non-target species, for example marine mammals, in fishing nets. Underwater noise: https://www.ccb.se/publication/underwater-noise-the-neglected-threat-to-marine-life and CCB Baltic Talks.
 

[5] EU Delegated Act (2022): https://www.ccb.se/one-step-in-the-right-direction-to-protect-the-only-whale-in-the-baltic-sea

 

[6] ICES Advice (2020): https://www.ices.dk/news-and-events/news-archive/news/Pages/EmergencyBycatchMeasures.aspx and the scientific paper (2021): https://www.ccb.se/out-of-sight-out-of-mind-how-conservation-is-failing-european-porpoises

CCB is looking for a Network Officer to join our team at the CCB International Secretariat

By CCB • April 9, 2025
Coalition Clean Baltic – CCB is a politically independent network, uniting 27 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.

Attacks on NGOs: 570+ Organisations Join Forces to Defend Civil Society

By CCB • April 7, 2025
European civil society organisations (CSOs) are currently facing an attack coming from certain Members of the European Parliament. Spearheaded by some MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP) and by far-right groups, this attack resorts to misleading arguments to fabricate a scandal. This portrayal has been amplified through the media, with notable exceptions of articles that attempted to clarify this misleading narrative. European CSOs are crucial to ensure the voices of citizens from different parts of Europe are heard in the EU institutions. Attacks against civil society are unfortunately not new and are exacerbated by this harmful idea. Furthermore, for-profit corporate lobbying is through the roof when compared to non-profit advocacy. In 2024, the 50 corporations with the largest lobbying budgets collectively spent nearly €200 million on lobbying the EU alone (66% more than in 2015). Comparing this to the funding environmental NGOs receive under the LIFE programme - €15.6 million annually of a €700 million yearly budget - truly shows the weakness of this ‘scandal’. This is why over 570 civil society organisations from 40 countries, including all EU Member States, have joined forces to call on those in power to act now and ensure that civil society is adequately funded and enabled to share our crucial perspectives . In this statement, we address: The source of this false narrative; Inaccurate claims made about how CSOs obtain and use funding; Why it’s paramount that CSOs receive sufficient funding; The need for civil dialogue to enable CSOs participation. Democracy is about the right of citizens to be collectively heard for building an inclusive society and a shared European future; properly funded independent CSOs are a crucial tool for that. We call on decision-makers to ensure civil society organisations can thrive and play their role in interacting with policy-makers in order to have a more fully informed decision-making process. Read the full statement here . -END Civil Society Europe (CSE) is the coordination of civil society organisations at EU level. Through its membership, CSE unites EU-level membership-based organisations that reach out to millions of people active in or supported by not-for-profits and civil society organisations across the EU. CSE was created by several civil society organisations as a follow-up to the European Year of Citizens and was established as an international not-for-profit under Belgian law in 2016. Since then, it has become the point of reference for EU institutions on transversal issues concerning civil dialogue and civic space.