The UK’s whales, dolphins and porpoises are being failed by protections that exist in law but not in practice, according to a major new report published today by The Wildlife Trusts – one of the largest non-governmental organisation working in marine conservation in the UK.

The report, Priority Actions for North Sea Cetaceans 2026, finds that while large stretches of UK seas carry designated protected status, the legal safeguards underpinning them are in many places too weak, too poorly enforced, or too slow to keep pace with the threats cetacean populations face.

At least eight species of whale, dolphin and porpoise are regularly recorded across the greater North Sea marine region, with a further seven appearing on an occasional basis. While all of them play a role in maintaining the health of the wider marine ecosystem, all of them are at risk.

The two most significant threats identified in the report are accidental entanglement in fishing gear – which causes hundreds of avoidable deaths each year – and underwater noise from shipping and offshore development, which disrupts the ability of whales and dolphins to feed, navigate and communicate.

“Our report reveals that action to protect dolphins, porpoises and whales is wholly inadequate,” said Ruth Williams, head of marine conservation at The Wildlife Trusts. “Simply designating areas as protected sites is not enough; what’s needed now is real action if whales, dolphins and porpoises are to flourish in our waters once more.”

The North Sea is among the most important cetacean habitats in UK waters. Harbour porpoises, white-beaked dolphins and minke whales are the most commonly recorded species in the region, and some of their most critical feeding grounds lie within it. Among them are the Dogger Bank (the vast shallow sandbank off England’s east coast) and the waters surrounding Flamborough Head (the chalk headland that juts eight miles into the North Sea from the Yorkshire coast).

Despite their ecological significance, both of these areas remain exposed to intensive fishing activity and marine development.

The report sets out a series of priority actions it is calling on the UK Government to implement without delay. These include improving the enforcement and management of existing Marine Protected Areas, reducing bycatch by phasing out the most harmful fishing nets and trialling safer alternatives, protecting key cetacean feeding grounds, and developing a national plan with clear limits to reduce underwater noise from both shipping and marine development.

Expanded monitoring, through increased surveys, improved technology and stronger support for citizen science, is also identified as a critical gap.

The findings arrive just months after the UK Government published its new cetacean conservation strategy in December 2025, which committed to protecting all 28 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise found in UK seas. The Wildlife Trusts acknowledge the strategy as a step forward, but note that it contains no clear targets or deadlines – a gap that, in their assessment, risks rendering the commitment largely symbolic.

“That means managing our existing Marine Protected Areas, including those in the North Sea, more effectively to reduce the most harmful fishing practices, cut underwater noise from ships and offshore developments, better protect important feeding areas, and improve how we monitor these animals,” said Williams.

“If governments and industries act on the evidence already available, we can quickly reduce harm and give North Sea cetaceans a real chance to recover. However, without faster, clearer action, the UK risks falling further behind in protecting some of its best-loved marine species.”

Concerns about the adequacy of cetacean protections in UK waters are not new – the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has previously raised similar alarm. What today’s report adds is a granular, species- and habitat-specific assessment of where the failures are most acute, and what targeted interventions – including temporary fishing restrictions during key seasons, adjustments to shipping routes, and limits on noisy activities in sensitive areas – could most quickly reduce harm.

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