Harbour Porpoise Bycatch and Welfare

Harbour porpoises are among the most frequently caught non-target species in European fisheries, with bycatch causing drowning deaths and welfare concerns for survivors.

Key Facts

Harbour porpoises are the most common cetacean in northern European coastal waters
Gill nets and set nets catch porpoises that cannot surface to breathe, causing drowning
The Baltic Sea harbour porpoise population is critically endangered partly due to bycatch
Acoustic deterrents called pingers can significantly reduce porpoise bycatch in net fisheries
EU regulations require pinger use in certain high-bycatch fisheries but enforcement is inconsistent
Entangled porpoises that are released alive may suffer injuries that compromise survival

Welfare Considerations

Drowning in a fishing net is one of the most acute welfare harms inflicted on marine mammals by human activity. Porpoises caught in gill nets experience extreme oxygen deprivation and stress as they struggle to escape. Death from drowning typically takes minutes and involves profound physiological distress. Even porpoises that are released alive may have sustained barotrauma, lung injury, or exhaustion that reduces survival probability. The scale of the welfare problem is large: tens of thousands of harbour porpoises are estimated to die in European nets annually.

What You Can Do

Support campaigns for mandatory pinger use across gill net fisheries in cetacean habitats
Choose seafood certified by schemes with bycatch monitoring requirements
Donate to organisations monitoring and reducing cetacean bycatch in European fisheries
Advocate for improved enforcement of existing bycatch regulations
Support research into real-time bycatch monitoring technology to improve compliance