13th Meeting of the North Sea Group
Tackling Bycatch and Habitat Threats: Outcomes from the 13th ASCOBANS NSG Meeting
The 13th Meeting of the Steering Group for the ASCOBANS Conservation Plan for Harbour Porpoise in the North Sea (North Sea Group) took place online, on 28 and 29 April 2025. The meeting brought together representatives from North Sea countries, environmental organizations, and invited experts, to assess the current state of harbour porpoise conservation and threat mitigation measures.
Countries reported on their conservation efforts, experts conducted presentations on ongoing studies, and joint collaboration were discussed. Major threats to harbour porpoises include bycatch, habitat disturbance, construction of offshore wind farms, and other human activities.
With new technologies comes new initiatives: self-reporting apps and Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) systems are promising conservation tools that still require further fine tuning. The self-reporting app allows fishers to log catch data and other interactions with sensitive species and fishing gears, including instances of bycatch. Combined with data from REM systems, the logged inputs from the self-reporting app help build shared image libraries and improve identification of different taxa. However, participants expressed concerns over the reliability of self-reported data without independent verification, pointing to the need for further improvements.
A notable concern raised was the unusual occurrence of bottlenose dolphin attacks on harbour porpoises in the UK, which suggests increased interactions due to species range overlap.
The meeting highlighted collaborative efforts, such as Life CIBBRiNA Project, POSEIDON Project, and different EU incentives acting as driving forces.
Open and collective data was a point that insisted on to better identify threats and track progress in order to strengthen conservation efforts. The established channel of communication from the Secretariat via the national representatives already reflects the shared commitment to further joint endeavours.
Having remained unchanged since adoption in 2010, the meeting agreed on adjustments the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the North Sea Group, to reflect current tasks and removing outdated references. The updated TOR will be presented to the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee at its 29th Meeting.
This 13th meeting of the North Sea Group reinforced the need for regional cooperation, data transparency and innovation for the conservation of harbour porpoise in the North Sea. The presentations used during the meeting, as well as report of the meeting will be available on the meeting page in due course.