Reports submitted to the IWC SC in 2020 and 2022 highlighted the apparently precarious state of the Iberian porpoise due to high bycatch mortality. In the present report we provide an update with (mainly) recent information on the biology, ecology, threats and conservation status. The Committee noted that the level of bycatch of Iberian harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is considered unsustainable and will consequently cause a population-level decline. In 2022 the Committee recommended immediate actions to effectively reduce and, where possible, eliminate bycatch of harbour porpoise throughout Iberian Peninsula waters. Information published since spring 2022 includes papers on aerial surveys in Portugal, bycatch mortality estimated from strandings in Galicia (NW Spain) and Portugal, and diet. We also present some unpublished and in press material from project reports, conference presentations, the forthcoming report of the ICES Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME), and a review of biology, ecology, threats to, and status of, Iberian porpoise due to be published later this year. Estimates of total mortality derived from on-board observation and from strandings both suffer from limited and incomplete data, e.g. due to low onboard observer coverage, and an absence of bycatch information from strandings data for most of the northern coast of Spain, but generally suggest that annual bycatch mortality could be around 200-300 animals. Spain is developing a Recovery Plan for Iberian porpoise, which Spain considers to be “in danger of extinction”. Portugal has established a Working Group to develop the necessary Action Plan to minimize the serious threat of cetacean bycatch in fishing. The range of the population was recently designated as an Important Marine Mammal Area. It is suggested that a Working Group concerned with the ecology and conservation of this population could be formed, for example involving ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS, ICES and the IWC

19 pages, 7 tables, 3 figures

Peer reviewed