Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to share our article “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How
Conservation Is Failing European Porpoises” which has just been published in
Frontiers in Marine Science (open access) as part of the research topic "Small
Cetacean Conservation: Current Challenges and Opportunities".
In the article we stress the vulnerability of the harbor porpoise in European
seas and especially in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and in the waters of the
Iberian Peninsula off Portugal and Spain, and call for urgent action,
especially in relation to bycatch.
The article can be found at the following link:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.617478/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Marine_Science&id=617478#note5
Citation: Carlén I, Nunny L and Simmonds MP (2021) Out of Sight, Out of Mind:
How Conservation Is Failing European Porpoises. Front. Mar. Sci. 8:617478. doi:
10.3389/fmars.2021.617478
Abstract
The conservation of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) appears to be failing
in Europe. There are particular concerns about this species in the Baltic
Proper, Black, and Mediterranean Seas, as well as in the Northeast Atlantic,
including the Iberian population, off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. The
Baltic Proper porpoise is “critically endangered,” with a population only in
the low hundreds, and the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling
Commission has repeatedly called for action to ensure its survival. In 2020,
the Committee issued a series of recommendations relating to it and the Iberian
population. Similarly, the Black Sea harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena ssp.
relicta, is classified by the IUCN as endangered. Another population which may
be genetically distinct is the West Greenland harbor porpoise, which is hunted
without quotas or close seasons. European cetaceans and their habitats are
covered by a number of international and regional conventions and agreements
and, under European Union law, are “highly protected.” In practice, however,
these legal protections have failed to generate effective conservation. For
example, Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are required for them and,
although sites have been designated in some marine areas/countries, in the
absence of appropriate management plans, SACs cannot be expected to help
improve the harbor porpoise's conservation status. Compared to many other
species, porpoises are relatively long-lived with low reproductive capacity and
only poor public recognition. Conservation and management efforts are caught up
in a complicated nexus of interactions involving a web of commitments under
international conventions and agreements, European environmental laws, and
European fisheries policy. However, public disinterest, lack of political will
to implement conservation measures, and complicated fishing-related issues
hinder any real progress. More positively, recent advice from the International
Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) provides a new scientific
foundation for conservation action to address fisheries bycatch in the Baltic
Proper harbor porpoise population. Populations of other porpoise species
(family Phocoenidae) are also threatened, most notably the global population of
the critically endangered vaquita, or Gulf of California porpoise (Phocoena
sinus). The common threats and factors affecting porpoise populations are
discussed and recommendations offered.
Keywords: harbor porpoise, porpoise, bycatch, Phocoena, Baltic, vaquita,
conservation
Thank you for your interest.
Best wishes,
Ida Carlén (Coalition Clean Baltic), Laetitia Nunny (Wild Animal Welfare) and
Mark P. Simmonds (Humane Society International)
Please send any correspondence regarding the article to Mark P. Simmonds:
mark.simmo...@sciencegyre.co.uk
<mailto:mark.simmo...@sciencegyre.co.uk>
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