Although fishing of P. phocoena is now illegal in most areas, the species is still in danger. Deliberate and accidental deaths still occur because modern fishing nets are almost undetectable to porpoises. Since these nets are commonly used in nearshore areas, in the natural range of P. phocoena, they probably kill large numbers of porpoises. Various measures are being taken in the United States and other nations in an attempt to limit deaths of this kind. In addition to deaths related to fishing, porpoises also suffer from chemical and noise pollution. (Dollinger(1988), Johnston(1999), McWilliam(1999), Nowak(1999))

CITES: appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: critically endangered