Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Minister of the Environment, Till Backhaus (SPD), has canceled a scheduled consultation meant for April 15th that was set to bring together nature conservation groups and fishing representatives. This meeting was supposed to address the protection of whales in the Baltic Sea. Instead, Backhaus held a press conference focusing specifically on a porpoise calf found in the Baltic Sea.
During the conference, the Minister announced plans for a rescue attempt concerning the calf, which has been referred to as “Timmy” or “Hope”. Separately, the Ministry of the Environment stated that an internal department head attended the meeting-in place of Backhaus-to discuss the Baltic Sea whales.
A central topic of the original discussion was how to reduce the number of porpoises that die as bycatch in fishing nets. Marine biologist Henning von Nordheim of Rostock University told “Der Spiegel” that since 2006, over 50 porpoises have died off the Mecklenburg coast each year, often in painful ways while entangled as bycatch. While this issue is well-known, he noted that it rarely receives public attention.
Despite the focus on the Baltic Sea porpoise, critics frequently argue that an excessive amount of resources is being allocated to saving this single animal, drawing attention away from broader, systemic efforts in animal and marine conservation. The porpoise population in the Baltic Sea is exceptionally vulnerable, consisting of only a few hundred animals and is classified as endangered.
Nordheim stressed the urgency of the situation, stating that it is “absolutely unacceptable” that so many whales continue to die trapped in fishing nets in the Baltic Sea. He emphasized that these are sentient creatures who experience pain and suffer horribly, much like the orca calf that was the subject of the conference.
