EU Scientific body confirms stronger bycatch measures are needed to protect Bay of Biscay common dolphins and Baltic Proper harbour porpoises

CCB • April 15, 2021

NGO concerns over EU countries’ inadequate response to the bycatch of protected species have now been confirmed by the evaluation of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) [1]. 

With respect to the measures proposed by France, Spain and Portugal to reduce bycatch of common dolphins in the Bay of Biscay, it concludes that measures are insufficient to prevent the many thousands of incidental killings recorded every year. Regarding measures for the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise brought forward by Baltic Member States, STECF highlights that these proposals have the potential to reduce incidental catches in marine protected areas but they leave out crucial measures recommended by scientists to minimise bycatch of this critically endangered species in the wider region. 

Now the ball is in the European Commission’s court to decide on the proposed measures. NGOs call on the European Commission to reject these inadequate measures and require Member States to urgently revise their proposals according to the entirety of the scientific advice and uphold their legal obligations to prevent bycatch.

STECF has warned that the number of bycaught dolphins stranded on the French coast has doubled in January 2021 compared to January 2020 [2]. In the Bay of Biscay, between 1 December 2020 and 6 April 2021, around 750 dolphins were found stranded on the French Atlantic coast [3], which could imply that around 7500 died in the fishing nets of the Bay of Biscay this winter [4]. If this keeps going, common dolphins could disappear in the Bay of Biscay within 40 years [5].

The increase in dolphin mortality due to bycatch, and the negative evaluation from STECF of the currently proposed measures by France, Spain and Portugal should be taken very seriously by governments of France and Spain, which are under legal pressure due to their innaction, following infringement action taken by the Commission [6]. 

On the other hand, measures proposed by Baltic Member States to prevent bycatch of the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise follow parts of the scientific advice more closely. STECF’s scientists have now concluded that, if effectively implemented, these measures will ‘contribute to reducing incidental catches of the harbour porpoise in the Baltic’ [7], however, they are unlikely to eliminate the threat entirely. Given that every single bycaught porpoise threatens the future of this small population [8], marine NGOs have expressed concern that the proposal only covers measures in Marine Protected Areas, neglecting the wider Baltic Sea area, where bycatches are as likely to occur. Furthermore, Baltic Member States are under legal obligation to protect the harbour porpoise throughout its habitat range, not only in Marine Protected Areas. This concern is also highlighted in the STECF’s evaluation. 

There is no time to waste for the Baltic porpoise and while Baltic Member States aim to submit a second set of proposals by June 2021, NGOs are calling on them to urgently include measures covering the entire Baltic Sea region as well as measures for recreational fishers, in line with scientific advice. Until such measures are implemented, the European Commission must promptly adopt emergency measures to protect the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise.

Andrea Ripol, Fisheries Policy Officer, Seas At Risk said: “ The message is clear – the measures proposed by France and Spain fall short of any ambition and are clearly not enough to prevent the deaths of thousands of dolphins, which is a growing concern for the public. Over 300,000 people have signed a petition demanding urgent action. Science and public opinion are aligned. Why shouldn’t then decision makers act accordingly? We count on the European Commission to reject this proposal and on Commissioner Sinkevičiust to keep his word and to step in. ”

Sarah Dolman, Bycatch programme lead at Whale and Dolphin Conservation said: “ More dolphins were bycaught in the Bay of Biscay last winter than have been recorded for more than a decade. Member States wasted time proposing inadequate measures which do not meet the scientific requirements presented twice now by regional experts, ICES and STECF. The Commission must act urgently to enforce EU law and require robust measures that will prevent further deaths of dolphins and porpoises. ”

Cecilia del Castillo, fisheries campaigner at Ecologistas en Acción said: “Uneffective measures have resulted in hundreds of dead dolphins for another consecutive winter in the Bay of Biscay. Commissioner Sinkevičiust, it is time to demand the French and Spanish governments to stop procrastinating. The scientific advice is clear: temporary closures of fisheries are required to cease with this disaster at once”.  

Ida Carlén, Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Officer at Coalition Clean Baltic and Chair of the ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group , said: “ The Baltic Proper harbour porpoise population is critically endangered and even one animal bycaught poses a serious threat to the survival of the population. Member States must act to save the only whale in the Baltic, and they must act now.” 

Cathrine Pedersen Schirmer, senior marine policy officer at The Danish Society for Nature Conservation said: “ The Baltic member states are undermining the implementation of effective measures throughout the entire distribution range of the baltic harbour porpoise by cherry picking measures recommended by ICES regarding marine protected areas, while stalling the implementation of measures throughout the Baltic Proper. This delayment tactic is very regrettable, as harbour porpoises don’t self contain themselves to marine protected areas, but have a broad distribution range in which they need to be protected against incidental bycatch. We therefore call on the Baltic member states to agree on bycatch measures that follow the entirety of the ICES advice without further delays ”.    

Sophie Mjati, Oceans, Seas and Coastline coordinator at France Nature Environnement , said: “ More than 65 000 dolphins have died in the fishing nets of the Bay of Biscay since 2000. The refusal of governments to act is deafening and may lead to a disappearance of the population ”. 

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CONTACTS
For more information or an interview please contact:

or

  • Ida Carlén, Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Officer at Coalition Clean Baltic and Chair of the ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group: ida.carlen@ccb.se ; +46 70 3133067

Seas At Risk is an umbrella organisation of environmental NGOs from across Europe that promotes ambitious policies at European and international level for the protection and restoration of the marine environment.

WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation is the leading charity dedicated to the protection of whales, dolphins and porpoises.  We work globally through campaigns, lobbying, advising governments, conservation projects, field research, rescue, education and advocacy to advance our vision of a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free.

Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB)  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

Ecologistas en Acción is a non-governmental umbrella organisation of over 300 environmentalist groups throughout Spain that was founded in December 1998 and is one of the top five environmental groups active in Spain today. The organisation’s guiding principles are built around the core concept of social ecology, which views environmental problems and the global ecological crisis as rooted in an increasingly unsustainable and globalized model of economic production and consumption.

The Danish Society for Nature Conservation (DN) is a non-profit, non-governmental membership based organisation that works to conserve nature and the environment in Denmark through local work, conservation, lobbying and specific projects. DN is the largest green NGO in Denmark with 130.000 members and over 1.500 active volunteers. 

France Nature Environnement was created in 1968 and gathers more than 3500 local NGOs from all France including overseas territories, working on a range of environmental areas (oceans, energies, forests, agriculture, health, education, transports, waste, etc.). Therefore, France Nature Environnement’s objective is to give voice to the civil society and protect the terrestrial and marine environment. France Nature Environnement is involved at a local, regional, national and European level.

NOTES

 

Peltier H et al. 2020. ‘Can modelling the drift of bycaught dolphin stranded carcasses help identify involved fisheries? An exploratory study’. Global Ecology and Conservation. https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nouvelle-aquitaine/des-dauphins-retrouves-echoues-par-dizaines-sur-les-plages-aquitaines-1999444.html

 

 

Additional information on the lack of effective action from France and Spain and the need for emergency measures is available here .

 

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

CCB´s submission to the EU Call for Evidence on the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

By CCB • March 10, 2026
Uppsala, March 2026 - CCB has closely worked with the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) ever since its adoption and welcomed the opportunity to give feedback to this crucial directive for marine biodiversity and ocean health through the EU Call of Evidence . Evaluations conducted by the EU Commission previously found many positive effects for EU marine waters stemming from the directive, but also that the directive has some shortcomings. CCB however, maintains that the largest obstacle to fully implementing the directive and achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) is the lack of political will among Member States to do so. This forthcoming revision must therefore result in a framework directive that is more easily enforceable, measurable and implementable, accompanied by sufficient funding to carry out the measures. Furthermore, in order to achieve GES as fast as possible other key pieces of EU legislation must also support reaching it and focus on achieving the goals of the MSFD in their objectives. Seeing that European seas generally are in poor condition and under mounting pressure from human activities and that in the Baltic Sea the situation is especially dire there is an urgent need for truly ecosystem-based management of our seas and for reaching GES. The revised MSFD can help us achieve this, but only if it includes the points outlined below and the directive is fully and swiftly implemented: *** [Short version]*** Operationalise the overarching GES goal: EU sea areas were supposed to reach GES already in 2020, but due to low political ambition, sadly did not do so. Member States should therefore strive to reach GES as fast as possible now. Setting a new overall deadline for when to reach GES is not the answer on how to achieve this goal most efficiently, instead tools that address pressures and measure progress and ensure actual, timely implementation of ambitious measures must be included in the revised directive in order to operationalise achieving the overall GES goal. CCB therefore recommends making the existing and forthcoming threshold values for the descriptors and their criteria legally binding and part of the main directive. Improving regional coordination and implementation: To improve the coherence, coordination and effectiveness of MSFD implementation, assessment of GES, monitoring and the national PoMs the role of the Regional Seas Conventions (RSCs) must be clarified. CCB would welcome collating all the national PoMs into one regional PoM for the Baltic Sea, which should be aligned with, in addition to reaching the goals of the MSFD, with achieving the goals of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). Land-sea interface: For the Baltic Sea to achieve GES it is key that land-based pressures, primarily nutrient runoff from agriculture causing severe eutrophication, is also addressed and that implementation of the MSFD goes hand in hand with the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The goals of the MSFD and achieving GES should also be included when implementing and shaping the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as any synergies with implementing the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan which are also important to identify and utilise. The Baltic Sea also has a too high prevalence and level of other pollutants and hazardous substances affecting marine life. Fisheries and aquaculture: As one of the main pressure factors on the marine environment in general, as well as in the Baltic Sea, fisheries and aquaculture and the effects they have on the marine ecosystem and its biodiversity must be addressed in order to achieve GES. This is especially crucial when considering the MSFD descriptor for Biodiversity (D1), Fish and Shellfish (D3), Food webs (D4) and the one for Seabed integrity (D6). Climate change: Climate change is also affecting the Baltic Sea faster than other marine regions and must be factored in when managing the sea area and its resources to ensure EBM and the full implementation of the MSFD and achieving GES. The effects of the climate crisis should be accounted for when setting pressure reduction targets and threshold values for the descriptors and their criteria, in a way that when an effect cannot be measured nor predicted the precautionary principle must be used. Revising Art. 14 of the MSFD: Article 14 in the MSFD outlines the acceptable exceptions when reaching GES is not possible. The article needs to be revised in the forthcoming revision, since it contains too many and too broad in scope possibilities for exemptions (e.g. in Art. 14(4)), which jeopardise the implementation and fulfilment of the directive as a whole. A possible way of modifying it would be to introduce an obligation for Member States to demonstrate that they have taken all measures within their control nationally and that they have tried to address the problem and advance solving it on a regional level through cooperating with other Member States, before they can apply for a possible exemption. Make the Programme of Measures contain ambitious & concrete measures: One of the cornerstones of the MSFD is the national PoMs that are published every six years and are precluded by an assessment of GES in national waters and a monitoring programme. Unfortunately, the current approach to PoMs where Member States freely can choose measures has led to an overall too low level of ambition in the PoMs, and to large differences within regions and between neighboring countries in terms of which measures are included. In order to fully implement the directive and to achieve GES it is of paramount importance that the national PoMs have a high level of ambition and contain concrete, implementable measures and that there is regional coordination. Easing the reporting burden: One of the results from the evaluation of the MSFD was that the current reporting burden is considered to be too high and a possible way to address this is to align the reporting obligations of the MSFD to more reassemble those of the WFD, that has a more simplified 6-year cycle compared to the MSFD. The implementation cycle however should not be revised or at least not in a way that delays reaching GES. Improve coherence with other legislation: To ensure that the revised MSFD is fully implemented it is essential that coherence with other relevant legislation is improved. The MSPD (foundation for the forthcoming Ocean Act) is also currently being revised and to reach the goals for both the directives achieving GES needs to be a cornerstone of the Ocean Act. This is the only way to deliver truly ecosystem-based management of our seas, and the revision of both directives should therefore be coordinated and focused on achieving GES. CCB looks forward to continuing to provide input to the revision process of the MSFD as well as working with the implementation of the MSFD, especially in the Baltic Sea. CCB expects that the revision will result in a more enforceable directive that leads to the fast implementation of ambitious measures to improve the state of the Baltic and European Sea areas and to the achievement of GES. The full text of the submission is available here . *** Links to supplemental documents supporting our positions: CCB’s submission to the Call for Evidence for the Ocean Act Guiding Recommendations for Source-to-Sea Restoration in Riverine, Coastal, and Marine Ecosystems (Coalition Clean Baltic, 2025) Position Paper on Marine Protected Areas (Coalition Clean Baltic 2024) Don’t sink the Common Fisheries Policy – fulfil its potential (joint NGO Briefing 2025) Blue Manifesto (joint NGO paper)