Ocean Museum Germany heads international research project on the protection of harbour porpoises
Fourteen partners from Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Finland and Lithuania have joined forces to develop effective protection measures for the highly endangered Baltic Sea harbour porpoise. The five-year project headed by the Ocean Museum Germany and sponsored by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) will evaluate scientific data on the population structure, threats and habitat quality of harbour porpoises in the Baltic.
(Stralsund, 12.02.2026) The harbour porpoise, the Baltic Sea's only native whale species, is divided into two distinct populations. The population in the central Baltic Sea now numbers only a few hundred individuals and is critically endangered. The larger population in the Belt Sea is also declining and has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). ‘Both populations are exposed to threats caused by humans. However, by now, only limited protective measures are in place,’ states Dr Judith Denkinger, project manager at the Ocean Museum Germany. ‘This is the reason why we want to provide the foundation for effective species conservation management.
The CUMBIAH research project aims to answer a wide range of research questions in order to develop much needed and efficient conservation measures that will be implemented in partner countries:
In particular, the evaluation of the latest surveys and the assessment of porpoise distribution patterns and densities will enhance knowledge on current population sizes and trends. A newly developed method for the acoustic identification of porpoise calves will help to determine calving times and nursing areas. Environmental DNA samples (eDNA) will be evaluated to assess the quality of habitats and the occurrence of prey fish species. Stranded animal monitoring and necropsies in Germany and partner countries will provide important insights into general body condition of Baltic Sea harbour porpoises, including nutritional status, sex, reproductive status, disease and cause of death. Furthermore, genetic data will be used to assign individuals to their population of origin, assess genetic diversity, and estimate population sizes and trends. Information on fishing intensity will provide insight into the risk of bycatch. Measurements of underwater noise from construction projects and seismic surveys will be compared to porpoise density and distribution patterns to identify areas of particular conservation need.
CUMBIAH stands for Conservation Union for Management of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise Populations and their Habitat.
The cooperation partners include the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation – Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, the University of Potsdam, Aarhus University (Denmark), Lund University and Museum of Natural History in Sweden, the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute (Poland), Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland) and Klaipėda University (Lithuania).
The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) from funds allocated to marine nature conservation under the Offshore Wind Energy Act.
