Row across the Atlantic – ready to start to save the Baltic porpoise

CCB • December 14, 2021

After one and a half years of preparation Sören Kjellkvist and Måns Kämpe are now going to row across The Atlantic, with the start planned for December 14’th 2021 from the small harbour town of Lagos in Portugal.


The Row across The Atlantic is estimated to take about 3 months, the distance is more than 6000 km, which means over 3 million oar strokes, and their goal is to reach the tropical islands of the Caribbean.


Måns and Sören share a deep involvement for the oceans, and with this expedition they want to bring out the big questions about the oceans and the conditions for all life in them. It feels extra important to increase awareness of how dependent we are on life in the oceans, how humans destroy this and what we should be doing to turn this development around to let the oceans heal, recover and prosper again.

“The Baltic Harbour Porpoise is the Baltic’s own whale, but it is urgently close to extinction and red listed with only a few hundred individuals left” says Sören Kjellkvist.
Måns Kämpe adds: “Political decisions and specific changes need to happen soon, this should have been done a long time ago. Sweden’s lack of action has been criticized by the EU commission”.

Ida Carlén, expert at Coalition Clean Baltic, comments:“We work on demanding the changes required to allow the Baltic Harbour Porpoise to survive and stabilize, and the collaboration with Måns and Sören gives us a chance to bring this issue to a broader audience. A lot of people are not even aware that there is a species of whale in the Baltic, and that it is so close to extinction.”


During the expedition Måns and Sören will write daily reports, with updates about the row as well as facts and information about the Baltic Harbour Porpoise. Their goal is to raise awareness and help establish the decisions and actions required to save the only species of whale in the Baltic Sea.


The PR in Swedish is available here.

Read all about the adventure here or in their blog: https://sorenkjellkvist.se/ro-over-atlanten/

For more information about the Baltic Harbour Porpoise.

EU fisheries at a crossroads: NGOs warn against reform as Baltic collapse exposes failure to enforce existing rules

By CCB • April 30, 2026
Failure to implement EU fisheries law, not gaps in the policy itself, has pushed the Baltic Sea to the brink. Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) urges immediate action to rebuild Baltic fish populations and restore ecosystems.

Tampering with EU Fisheries Policy would ‘open Pandora’s Box’, NGOs warn

By CCB • March 30, 2026
Brussels, 30 March 2026 - Today, Fisheries Ministers from EU Member States meet with the European Commission for the AGRIFISH Council. On this occasion, Oceana, BLOOM, ClientEarth, Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Seas At Risk and WWF EU, handed a symbolic ''Pandora’s Box'' to the EU Commissioner Costas Kadis, sending a clear message as the European Commission prepares its 2026 evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The box represents the risks of revising EU’s main fishery policy framework: once opened, competing demands from Member States, industry, small-scale fishers, and coastal communities could quickly spiral into division, regulatory delays and uncertainties. This would put at risk the hard-won progress made in restoring Europe’s fish populations and improving the profitability of the fishing sector. NGOs urge decision makers to build on the progress made to date and to prioritise the full and timely implementation of the existing rules. Reopening the CFP and its related provisions would undermine ocean health and the long-term future of Europe’s fishing communities. '' Europe's fisheries policy is facing a credibility test. The law is already there. The tools to rebuild our seas already exist. What's missing is the political will to deliver. Overfishing should have ended by 2020 at the latest. Reopening the CFP would signal that missed deadlines carry no consequences, erode trust, revert the progress made, and put the future of our fisheries and coastal communities at stake ’’, said the NGO coalition. *** Oceana: Vera Coelho, Executive Director and Vice President in Europe BLOOM: Claire Nouvian, Founder and General Director ClientEarth: John Condon, Lead of Marine Ecosystems Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB): Ida Carlén, Co-Chair Environmental Justice Foundation: Steve Trent, CEO/Founder Seas At Risk: Dr Monica Verbeek, Executive Director WWF EU: Ester Asin, Director