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Although the Harbour Porpoise protection area offshore
from the islands of Sylt and Amrum on the German North Sea Coast has been officially in force since the end of 1999 it is
not marked on any nautical charts. As a result motorboats still race with speeds up to 70 kph through the breeding grounds
and nursery of the Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena. Fixed fishing nets under 2 metres height are still permitted and a
ban on higher nets has not yet been approved by the EU and is therefore only binding for German fishermen. The immediately
neighbouring fishermen of Denmark and Holland (as well as the rest of the EU) are not affected. In addition, the latest scientific
studies tend to the recommendation that the protection area should be further extended seawards.
In order to provide effective protection for the porpoises and seabirds - especially
the Red-throated and Black-throated Loons (Gavia stellata and Gavia arctica) -
of the area the WWF and the Wadden Sea Protection Station are putting pressure on the responsible authorities at provincial,
federal and EU level.
Please support them by sending the text below (or write in your own words)
in a mail to:
CLICK FOR DIRECT MAIL FORM
Email addresses in text:
walschutz@schutzstation-wattenmeer.de
copy to
support4others@proactnow.org
who will forward them to the responsible
ministers and parliamentary representatives.
Thank you,
David Conlin,
Proct International
MORE EFFECTIVE PROTECTION FOR PORPOISES
AND SEABIRDS IN THE WADDEN SEA
Dear Minister
President Heidi Simonis,
Dear Environmental
Minister Klaus Müller,
Dear Ministers
and Members of Parliament,
The German Whale
Protection Area offshore from Sylt and Amrum in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea does not afford effective protection for the Harbour or Common Porpoise Phocoena
phocoena in German coastal waters.
The protected
area must be extended into your federal waters and be registered with and approved by the EU fisheries department.
Please take
proactive measures NOW to provide comprehensive and functioning protection for the conservation of this threatened species.
This will provide collateral benefits for many of the seabird species - in particular the Red-throated and Black-throated
Loons (Gavia stellata and Gavia arctica) in the waters of the National Park.
Yours sincerely,
[Name and Address]
A Proact Personal Support Initiative!
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