Europe’s smallest marine mammal, the endangered Black Sea harbour porpoise, is facing a critical fight for survival as it is pushed toward extinction by entanglement in fishing gear. The crisis is most acute in the Black Sea turbot fishery, where recent estimates suggest that more than 10,000 porpoises die each year. Other cetacean species are also affected, including bottlenose and common dolphins.
Bulgarian researchers conducted a four-year trial involving 57 hauls to identify effective ways to reduce porpoise mortality. Their findings, now published in Nature Conservation, indicate that not all acoustic deterrent devices are equally effective in reducing harbour porpoise bycatch in the Black Sea.
Photo Credit: Dimitar Popov
