Thanks to the support of the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie, we will be able to carry out specific campaigns on land and at sea. We will patrol the waters to document and actively prevent illegal fishing activities or violations of existing protection laws. In addition, we will actively contribute to reducing the severe pollution and the number of deathtraps for marine wildlife by retrieving discarded fishing gear such as ghost nets and by conducting beach cleanups.

The good news came as a complete surprise: On Saturday Sea Shepherd accepted an invitation for an interview at "Kranzler Eck", Berlin. Everything seemed quite normal, until the retired German figure skater Katarina Witt appeared all of a sudden to hand over the donation check to Nicolai Duda, Sea Shepherd Germany's Treasurer and Fundraising Director. The funding for the year 2020 had already been applied for, but the campaign could not be carried out due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds provided will now be used to allow the campaign to take place as planned in 2021. 

BALTIC SEA CAMPAIGN

The Baltic Sea is in an alarming state and is one of the most threatened marine areas in the world. As a brackish sea, it is already poor in nutrition and various factors such as eutrophication, overfishing, shipping traffic, pollution and underwater noise are aggravating the sensitive ecosystems and, above all, threatening biodiversity. The current Report on the State of Nature in Germany 2020 by the BMU (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety), clearly shows again how severely Germany's marine ecosystems and biodiversity are threatened. Biodiversity is dwindling, as is particularly evident from the example of the harbour porpoise population. With an estimated population of 500 animals, their species is already threatened with extinction. The main threats are still considered to be fishing activities with gillnets for example, the poor implementation and effectiveness of the protected areas, and the massive consequences of agriculture, such as the excessive input of nutrients.

Sea Shepherd Germany is returning to the Baltic Sea once again to fight for the survival of the harbour porpoises and to further the protection of the Baltic Sea. We will patrol the conservation areas and expose violations of existing conservation laws to protect these harbour porpoises and many other marine animals. With our work we want to inform the public about the problems in the Baltic Sea and raise awareness for the necessary protection. "The pressure on politicians must be increased in order to make the protective measures effective and to change the fishing activities on a long-term basis, including an absolute fishing ban in designated conservation areas. Germany must step up its response! We have a responsibility to save the last whales in our native waters from extinction", said Manuel Abraas, CEO Sea Shepherd Germany. The active campaign phase will start in the spring of 2021, further information will be announced with the official launch of the campaign.

Read more about the Baltic Sea Campaign