Press release

ClientEarth takes Spain to court over bycatch of whales and dolphins  

3 November 2026

ClientEarth has taken legal action before the National High Court of Justice seeking effective monitoring, prevention and mitigation measures to tackle the incidental capture of marine mammals in fishing gear in Spanish Atlantic waters

ClientEarth has taken legal action before the National High Court of Justice following the Spanish authorities’ failure to respond to its request to implement effective measures to monitor, prevent and reduce the incidental deaths of dolphins, porpoises and whales in Spanish Atlantic waters. 

In July, ClientEarth formally raised its concerns with Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) regarding the lack of adequate measures to assess and reduce cetacean bycatch in Spanish Atlantic waters. ClientEarth urged the authorities to strengthen monitoring systems, improve data collection, and adopt effective prevention and mitigation measures. In the absence of a response, ClientEarth is now taking the matter to court. 

The waters of the Cantabrian Sea and north-west Spain are a key habitat for numerous cetacean species. Twenty-eight species of dolphins, porpoises, and whales have been recorded in the region. However, bycatch remains one of the greatest threats to their conservation. 

Bycatch occurs when non-target species become caught in fishing gear. In the north-east Atlantic, the common dolphin is one of the species most affected by this issue, which scientists recognise as one of the main pressures on cetacean populations in the region. 

Despite years of scientific warnings and concerns raised by the European Commission, Spain still lacks sufficiently robust monitoring systems to assess the true scale of the problem and has failed to adopt adequate measures to effectively reduce these incidental captures. Due precisely to gaps in data collection, it is difficult to determine the full extent of the problem, but available estimates suggest that at least 2,000 cetaceans may die each year in Galician waters. 

 ClientEarth’s legal action asks the Spanish authorities to: 

  • As a priority, implement monitoring specifically aimed at assessing the presence and scale of cetacean bycatch. 

  • Promptly adopt effective prevention and mitigation measures based on the best available scientific evidence. 

  • Activate the necessary funding mechanisms to implement these measures wherever bycatch poses a threat to cetacean populations. 

 Arthur Meeus, lawyer at ClientEarth, said: 

“The legal framework to protect cetaceans exists, but it must now be implemented. States have an obligation to properly monitor these incidental catches and adopt effective measures when they pose a conservation risk to protected species.  Spain must now turn its legal commitments into concrete measures and effectively reduce this avoidable cetacean mortality.” 

ENDS

Notes to editors:

  • In 2019, ClientEarth and other organisations submitted a complaint to the European Commission alleging that several Member States, including Spain, were failing to comply with their obligations to protect cetaceans from bycatch. 

    Subsequently, the European Commission opened infringement proceedings and concluded that Spain had failed to adopt sufficient monitoring measures and had not made full use of the tools available under EU legislation to protect these species. 

    In 2020, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended improving data collection, implementing mitigation measures and introducing temporary fishery closures in specific areas and periods to reduce cetacean mortality to sustainable levels. However, many of these recommendations have yet to be properly implemented. 

    Spain is currently developing a Royal Decree on the protection of cetaceans, marine turtles and seabirds from bycatch in fisheries. ClientEarth considers this legislation an important opportunity to strengthen the protection of these species but believes it must fully align with obligations under EU law and be accompanied by effective implementation and enforcement mechanisms. 

    This legal action forms part of ClientEarth’s wider work to tackle the bycatch of marine species across Europe, a problem that affects not only cetaceans but also seabirds, turtles and other protected marine wildlife. 

    ClientEarth has also pursued legal action related to bycatch in other European countries, including initiatives aimed at improving the protection of seabirds in France and the United Kingdom. The action brought in Spain expands this work to another key jurisdiction in the north-east Atlantic and strengthens efforts to ensure effective enforcement of European environmental law. 

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth works in over 60 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. We shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive. 

We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.