20/08/2025 | The first project report from the CREATE joint project within the framework of the ‘sustainMare’ research mission of the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM) has been published. The study, authored by Wiebke Homes (ZMT) in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Achim Schlüter (ZMT) and PD Dr. Marion Glaser (ZMT), examines the effectiveness of the whale sanctuary of the islands Sylt and Amrum in protecting our only endemic whale, the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).
The Marine Protected Area Governance Framework (MPAG) by Peter Jones served as the methodological framework, with a total of 36 governance instruments (so-called ‘incentives’) being systematically analysed. The results highlight strengths such as good stakeholder involvement and efficient communication, but also reveal weaknesses: a lack of cross-jurisdictional coordination, insufficient capacities and legal enforcement, , and challenges in dealing with external pressures such as fishing activities by neighbouring countries, shipping traffic and the expansion of offshore wind energy. . In addition, there is a protection gap in the first 150 metres from the coast, where no effective legal protection has been in place to date.
The report provides practical recommendations, including strengthening the regulatory framework, expanding monitoring and enforcement, and giving greater consideration to external (beyond the direct influence of the administrative authority of the whale sanctuary) stress factors in governance assessments.
The results contribute to strengthening conservation governance strategies for harbour porpoises in the North Sea, while also expanding the MPAG methodological framework.
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