Project

Monitor Bruinvis Pathologie

Under the Nature Conservation Act (2017), the Netherlands has a duty to protect the Harbour porpoise. To properly fulfill this obligation, the Dutch Harbour porpoise conservation plan from 2011 was updated in 2020. This plan highlights a number of policy needs, including information about the causes of death of Harbour porpoises. This project aims to determine the causes of death of stranded Harbour porpoises by performing autopsy. In addition, tissue samples and stomachs are collected for follow-up research into contaminant load and diet.

Within ASCOBANS it has been stated that the percentages of 'anthropogenic removal' should be less than 1.7% of the population in order to have no significant negative effects on the Harbour porpoise population and the aim is to reach 0%. Anthropogenic threats include, for example, death as a result of bycatch from fishing, but also pollution with contaminants. Recently, there is a growing concern about the effects of underwater noise. With the current plans to expand wind energy at sea in the coming years, research into the effects of disturbance and other impacts caused by underwater noise will become more important in mapping and mitigating these.

Since the Netherlands has the legal obligation to demonstrate which mortality of stranded Harbour porpoises has anthropogenic causes, research into causes of death of stranded Harbour porpoises has performed as a WOT task since 2016.

Publications