The Bycatch Threat in EU Waters

The document highlights the critical threat of bycatch to cetaceans in EU waters, specifically targeting the Baltic harbour porpoise and the Northeast Atlantic common dolphin. It asserts that numerous Member States have failed to implement the monitoring and protection mandates of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and Regulation 812/2004. To address this, the authors propose emergency spatial and temporal closures of fisheries, mandatory on-board observations, and the use of acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs). Furthermore, the briefing warns that the EU must align its bycatch prevention procedures with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) by January 1, 2022, to avoid import prohibitions on fish products.

• A group of environmental NGOs has called on the European Commission to take legal action against 15 Member States—Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—for failing to implement conservation and monitoring systems to protect cetaceans from bycatch.
• The Northeast Atlantic common dolphin has an 'Unfavourable-Inadequate' conservation status, with an estimated average of 3,600 to 4,700 dolphins bycaught annually since 1997. Proposed emergency measures include closing pair-trawl and gillnet fisheries from December to March and implementing year-round on-board observations.
• The Baltic Sea harbour porpoise is critically endangered, with potentially fewer than 100 fertile females remaining in the Baltic Proper. The document proposes total fisheries closure of the Northern Midsea bank and mandatory use of acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) in all commercial gillnet fisheries east of 13.5°E.
• The US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provisions rule, effective January 1, 2022, requires harvesting nations to receive a 'comparability finding' from the US National Marine and Fisheries Service to export fish products to the US. The EU risks economic loss if its bycatch prevention procedures are not deemed comparable to US standards.

APA

ClientEarth (2019). The Bycatch Threat in EU Waters. https://www.clientearth.org/media/1tlf2gq4/ngo-briefings-on-preventing-dolphin-and-porpoise-bycatch-coll-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. The Bycatch Threat in EU Waters. 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/1tlf2gq4/ngo-briefings-on-preventing-dolphin-and-porpoise-bycatch-coll-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=The Bycatch Threat in EU Waters |date=December 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/1tlf2gq4/ngo-briefings-on-preventing-dolphin-and-porpoise-bycatch-coll-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2019bycatch, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{The Bycatch Threat in EU Waters}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/1tlf2gq4/ngo-briefings-on-preventing-dolphin-and-porpoise-bycatch-coll-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }