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

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 .