Porpoise campaign to be continued this summer

The harbour porpoise observation campaign will be continued in Finland this summer. The purpose of the campaign is encourage people to send in sightings which could point to the presence of porpoises.

The posters distributed to harbours this summer, and the new website www.pyoriainen.fi, will raise awareness of possible harbour porpoise sightings. The easiest way to report a sighting is by filling in the online form on the website. The website also has information on how to recognize harbour porpoises. Sightings can also be reported by telephone.

The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena L.) is a small toothed whale. According to rough estimates there are only some 600 harbour porpoises in the Baltic, and they are now an endangered species. The greatest danger for the harbour porpoise is becoming entangled in fishing tackle; other dangers are environmental poisons, increased underwater noise and disturbance of their environment.

Last summer there was only one positive harbour porpoise sighting in Finland, in the Åland islands. In 2004 altogether about ten harbour porpoises were seen, in three sightings. The porpoise's shy behaviour makes them difficult to spot.

Every EU Member State must place a porpoise observer on fishing vessels which are longer than 15 metres. This spring Finnish observers started work in Southwest Finland's T&E Centre. Their objective is to conduct impartial scientific research on finding harbour porpoises in connection with fishing. Though the species is rare in Finnish waters, Finland, too, needs to participate in porpoise detection, which must be carried out using uniform methods.

A protection programme for the harbour porpoise

The protection treaty for these small whales obliges Finland to follow, report and collect as much information as possible on harbour porpoise sightings. The harbour porpoise protection programme based on the treaty will be completed this summer.

A uninjured porpoise, entangled in a net, always has to be set free, and also if a dead porpoise is found a report must be sent to either the Finnish Museum of Natural History or to Evira, the veterinary authorities in Oulu.

The harbour porpoise sighting campaign started in 2001. In addition to the Ministry of the Environment, WWF Finland, the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, the Finnish Museum of Natural History, the Särkänniemi Dolphinarium and the Åland County Council participate in the programme.

Reporting sightings:

Fill in an online form at: www.pyoriainen.fi
Ministry of the Environment, Senior Adviser Penina Blankett, tel. (09) 1603 9518 (from 26 June 2006 onwards)

Reporting a dead harbour porpoise:

Finnish Museum of Natural History at the University of Helsinki,
tel. (exchange): (09) 1911. Evira, Oulu, tel. (exchange): 02077 24913