Joint NGO letter to EU Commission on Baltic proper harbour porpoise

CCB • November 5, 2020

In September 2020, together with NABU, WWF, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and Danish Society for Nature Conservation, we sent a letter to Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Ocean and Fisheries, on the protection of the Baltic proper harbour porpoise.

The harbour porpoise in the Baltic Proper is critically endangered with only a few hundred animals left. The primary threat to the remaining Baltic porpoises is the incidental bycatch in fishing nets and urgent actions are needed to stop it from going extinct.

In the letter, we expressed our concern about the low level of ambition in the current negotiations within BALTFISH to develop a Joint Recommendation [1]. The current BALTFISH proposal for measures does not meet the legal requirements to protect this population, and is missing key components of the ICES advice [2].

Therefore, we call for more commitment from the relevant Member States within BALTFISH in protecting the last Baltic Proper harbour porpoises, and we look to the European Commission to continue its commitment to this issue by implementing Emergency Measures in line with the ICES recommendations.

In November 2020, we received a letter in reply from Commissioner Sinkevičius. We welcome his position on this matter, confirming that the Commission is pushing Baltfish countries to come up with more ambitious measure to prevent harbour porpoise bycatch, and that they are indeed ready to implement emergency measures.

 

Read the full NGO letter and Commissioner Sinkevičius´s reply. ______________________________________________________________________________

 

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