Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 took place in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, from late April to early May. This year’s event was particularly special, as it celebrated its 10th anniversary. Known in German as the Schweinswaltage, it was also the first time I had attended the festival. Hoping to spot a few harbour porpoises myself, I set off for Wilhelmshaven. Whether I succeeded or not, you’ll find out in this article.
Harbour Porpoise Days 2026
Why is April considered one of the best times to spot harbour porpoises in Wilhelmshaven? How many of these animals actually live in the area? And is it really possible to see these small marine mammals directly from the shore?
These were exactly the questions I had before my trip to Wilhelmshaven. That made me even happier when I finally managed to attend this year. I had wanted to visit the Harbour Porpoise Days for a long time, but in previous years the dates had always been inconvenient, making it difficult to fit the trip into a short weekend.
If you’re thinking about attending the Harbour Porpoise Days yourself, it’s worth planning well in advance. Many boat trips and wildlife watching tours were fully booked long before the event began.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to secure a spot on a one-hour tour aboard a traditional Helgoland Börte boat.
Information: A few weeks earlier, I had signed up for the newsletter of the Wattenmeer Visitor Centre to find out as early as possible when the boat and ship tours would be released for booking. Early reservation turned out to be essential: I booked my trip on the Börte boat almost two months in advance. By then, it was already too late to secure a spot on a harbour porpoise tour aboard the “Nordwind”.
The Helgoland Börte boat turned out to be a small fishing cutter called “Arngast”. Our tour started at 9 a.m. in the morning.
We set off from the end of the Südstrand promenade in Wilhelmshaven. The weather could hardly have been better for a harbour porpoise tour: no wind, no waves, and neither rain nor fog. Instead, bright sunshine provided perfect visibility and a beautiful start to the day.
But would it actually bring us luck?
Even before we left the harbour, there were already plenty of birds to see. The barn swallows, in particular, seemed to be everywhere.
The barn swallows were impossible to miss.
At first, I was still very optimistic that we would see harbour porpoises that day. But when I learned that no animals had been spotted during the day before – only briefly during an evening tour – my expectations became a bit more realistic again.
However, I already knew from experience that harbour porpoises are difficult to observe. I had previously encountered this in the Flensburg Fjord, where I did manage to see them, but only for a few seconds at a time. I had also been on a whale-watching tour in Iceland, where harbour porpoises were spotted. Unfortunately, I was standing on the wrong side of the boat and completely missed the moment.
Still, I was looking forward to the tour and continued to hope that we might spot harbour porpoises again.
Information: If you’d like to read more about my encounter with harbour porpoises in the Flensburg Fjord, feel free to take a look at my earlier post. And even though I missed the harbour porpoises in Iceland back then, I was still able to experience impressive whale and dolphin sightings there. I have also written about that previously.
During the trip, we learned many fascinating facts about harbour porpoises and the Jade Bay (in German: “Jadebusen”).
According to estimates from 2022, around 339,000 harbour porpoises live in the North Sea, although the actual number is likely somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 animals. In spring, the porpoises follow the herring into the Jade Bay, where they find abundant food. This is exactly why the Harbour Porpoise Days take place in spring: at this time of year, the chances of spotting these otherwise rather elusive marine mammals are particularly good.
As I listened to the explanations, my eyes kept scanning the water’s surface, constantly hoping to catch sight of a small dorsal fin somewhere in the distance. But no harbour porpoises appeared. Instead, a seal suddenly surfaced.
Unfortunately, the seal stayed with us only for a short moment before disappearing back into the water.
What particularly caught my attention during the trip were the numerous wind turbines in the area. This also led us to discuss the risks that the construction of wind farms can pose to harbour porpoises. In particular, offshore construction work generates enormous amounts of underwater noise – a major problem for animals that rely so heavily on their sensitive hearing, such as harbour porpoises.
I had already written about the many threats facing harbour porpoises in my earlier article about the porpoises in the Flensburg Fjord. Looking into this more closely back then was truly alarming.
We were told that, nowadays, more consideration is given to the animals during construction, and that work is carried out only when no harbour porpoises are present in the area.
However, it is not only construction work that produces noise. At one point, the boat operator played us recordings from a hydrophone he had made near a high-speed passenger vessel. Wow. The noise was almost unbearable – and this is exactly the kind of sound harbour porpoises are exposed to on a daily basis.
In that moment, I felt slightly uneasy, as I was sitting on a boat myself. Yes, it was small and nowhere near as loud as a large high-speed vessel. But still, I am part of the problem – part of what we impose on many wild animals.
We continued scanning the water in search of surfacing dorsal fins. In vain.
In the distance, we watched hunting common terns, resting gulls and cormorants, as well as an oystercatcher flying past.
We also learned that the waters around Borkum and Sylt are important calving areas for harbour porpoises in the North Sea. Speaking of offspring: due to high levels of pollution in the water, harbour porpoises are also believed to suffer from miscarriages. Similar issues have been observed in other marine mammals as well, such as humpback dolphins. It was not the first time I had heard about this.
Other dolphin species, such as Guiana dolphins, also live in heavily polluted waters. The contaminants make them more vulnerable to infections. Coastal species are particularly affected – those living close to shore, and therefore in close proximity to humans.
Nevertheless, our one-hour tour was slowly coming to an end, and we headed back. On the way, we still observed a few common terns, busily hunting fish.
Information: If you’re interested in a trip aboard the Helgoland Börte boat, I recommend – as mentioned earlier – booking well in advance. The one-hour tour cost 25.00 euros during the Harbour Porpoise Days 2026.
After the boat tour, I made my way back towards the Südstrand promenade. During the Harbour Porpoise Days, there are usually numerous information stands and interactive activities there – but when I arrived, nothing had been set up yet. It was simply still too early.
Around 11 a.m., I tried to ask whether there might still be a spot available on the ship “Nordwind”. I had originally planned to join that tour, but all tickets had already been sold out. Later on, all participants eventually did board the vessel after all. I also tried my luck on the “Harle Kurier”: online, no tickets were available anymore, but a few remaining places were sometimes sold on site. Unfortunately, the crowd was so large that I ultimately could not join the trip. Perhaps that was for the best – the ship was completely overcrowded. The atmosphere felt hectic; even at the ticket counter, tensions seemed high, and people were at times impatient with one another.
On the one hand, it is wonderful that so many people want to see harbour porpoises, but on the other hand, it raises the question: at what cost?
Instead, I booked a harbour cruise in the hope of possibly spotting harbour porpoises from there as well. After all, you never know where these animals might appear.
Before that, I visited the Wattenmeer Visitor Centre to see the photo exhibition on harbour porpoises.
As I entered, a mother was just leaving the photo exhibition with her child. On their way out, she explained to him that harbour porpoises are actually quite boring animals.
Oh dear. Has the Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 perhaps not yet left a lasting impression in favour of harbour porpoises?
Maybe it is indeed better to go out by boat and allow people to experience these animals in the first place – even if it means creating noise in the process. The harbour porpoise has a difficult time: it is shy and often only surfaces for very brief moments. At least, that has been my experience so far.
This makes it seem as though it struggles to truly capture people’s hearts.
Information: Bryde’s whales are also very difficult to observe. I spent three months in South Africa and only once managed to see a Bryde’s whale for a somewhat longer time – although still much shorter than humpback whales or southern right whales. Most of the time, you only catch a brief glimpse of their dorsal fin before they disappear back into the depths.
In the photo exhibition, harbour porpoises were indeed mostly shown with just their dorsal fins visible. Only rarely does one manage to capture their eyes as well. But this does not make them boring at all – quite the opposite. The more elusive they are and the less they reveal of themselves, the more my interest in them grows.
While reading some reports about earlier Harbour Porpoise Days, I came across accounts of nature photographers who often did not see any harbour porpoises at all, instead photographing other animals such as ruddy turnstones – also fascinating subjects.
So it seemed I was not alone in this experience.
In the exhibition, I also noticed that many of the photographs had been taken in the Nassauhafen in Wilhelmshaven. The tour guide on the Börte boat had already mentioned this location as well. If harbour porpoises are there, they apparently stay for longer periods – what is needed most is patience and the willingness to wait for them.
In the museum shop, I eventually spoke with a woman who also recommended the Nassauhafen to me. In the end, I decided to go there.
At Nassauhafen, I sat down on a patch of grass and scanned the water with my eyes.
Numerous common terns flew busily back and forth or rested on posts. Again and again, smaller and larger boats passed through the harbour or entered it. It was hard to imagine that harbour porpoises would actually be present here on a weekend like this – there was simply so much activity on the water.
The woman in the museum shop had also mentioned that the chances of sightings are higher at low tide. At high tide, the harbour porpoises apparently follow the fish further out into open water.
Since I had booked the harbour cruise, I unfortunately could not stay at Nassauhafen for hours to continue observing. So I made my way to the “Harle Kurier” to join the tour I had reserved.
Did I see harbour porpoises there?
No, unfortunately not. And I was not the only one who searched for them in vain.
Information: It is said that you can also ask along the Südstrand promenade whether harbour porpoises have been spotted anywhere. However, since I was on the move most of the time, I didn’t get the chance to ask there anymore. From there, the animals are also observed from land using binoculars. In any case, it’s best to check the official website of the Harbour Porpoise Days to see which events are offered on each day.
The harbour porpoise
The harbour porpoise is one of the most fascinating marine mammals along our coasts – and yet most people rarely ever get to see one.
What makes the harbour porpoise in Germany special is that it is our only native whale species. And not only that – among all species in the porpoise family (Phocoenidae), the harbour porpoise is even the only one found in European waters.
Strictly speaking, I should refer to it as the common harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Whenever I simply write “harbour porpoise” in this article, I always mean the common harbour porpoise.
When you do happen to spot harbour porpoises – and that is not easy at all – you will usually notice their dorsal fin first. It is located just behind the middle of the body, is triangular in shape, and has a blunt tip. This is one of the features that clearly distinguishes harbour porpoises from dolphins, whose dorsal fins are often more sickle-shaped and noticeably more pointed. Another typical characteristic of the harbour porpoise is its dark back, while the belly and flanks are usually light grey to whitish.
Another distinguishing feature is the snout: unlike many dolphin species, such as the bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoises do not have a pronounced “beak.” They are also among the smallest whales. Adult animals reach a length of about 1.5 to 1.9 metres, with females usually being slightly larger than males.
Information: The other porpoises include the spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica), the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), and Burmeister’s porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis) from the genus Phocoena. The common harbour porpoise also belongs to this genus. There is also the finless porpoise (Neophocaena), which includes the Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) and the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides). A third genus (Phocoenoides) contains only one species of porpoise, the Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli).
Harbour porpoises usually live alone, in pairs – such as a mother with her calf – or in small groups. Unlike many dolphin species, however, they do not form large schools; their groups often consist of fewer than ten animals. Harbour porpoises are also considered rather shy and reserved. They rarely leap spectacularly out of the water and generally appear much less playful than dolphins. For this reason in particular, events such as the Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 are important to raise awareness of these often overlooked marine mammals.
Harbour porpoises are distributed across the North Atlantic, including the North Sea, as well as the North Pacific. They are also found in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Occasionally, they even follow their prey upstream into rivers. Harbour porpoises have been sighted in rivers such as the Elbe, Weser, and Jade.
Their diet consists mainly of schooling fish such as herring, sprat, and sand eel. However, squid and smaller octopuses are also part of their diet.
What was also new to me was that harbour porpoises can only dive for about six to ten minutes at a time. So they actually do not stay underwater for very long compared to many other marine mammals. And yet they are still difficult to observe and often completely escape the notice of most people. Other whale species are capable of much longer dives – such as sperm whales or beaked whales, which can remain underwater for up to two hours, or even longer?
It is also fascinating that harbour porpoises are migratory animals. In spring, many of them move into coastal waters, for example into the Jade Bay near Wilhelmshaven. This is precisely when they are easiest to observe there – which is why the Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 took place during this season. In autumn, the animals migrate back out into deeper offshore waters.
Like many other marine mammals, harbour porpoises are exposed to numerous threats. These include marine pollution and underwater noise, which are increasingly degrading their habitat. Fishing also poses a major risk – for example when animals become bycatch and die in fishing nets.
While harbour porpoises in the North Sea are currently still doing relatively well, the situation in other regions is much more critical. In the central Baltic Sea, it is estimated that only around 450 individuals remain. This makes this population one of the most endangered whale populations in Europe.
You will find some links further below if you would like to learn more about harbour porpoises in greater depth.
For this very reason, I consider events such as the Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 – as well as past and future Harbour Porpoise Days – to be so important. They raise awareness for a small marine mammal that many people would otherwise probably never consciously notice. I hope that the harbour porpoises reached many hearts this year as well – even if sightings are not always easy and some tours can involve a fair amount of patience and occasional stress.
What I particularly enjoyed about Wilhelmshaven was that, upon arriving at the train station, I was immediately welcomed by impressive murals of marine life in an underground tunnel. Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find out who created these beautiful artworks. If you happen to know the artist or artists, feel free to leave a comment.
In addition to harbour porpoises, many other marine animals are artistically depicted on the walls there as well. After all, the waters off Wilhelmshaven are home to far more species than just the harbour porpoise.
But there was not only something to discover in the sea: I was also able to observe some interesting bird species in Wilhelmshaven. I will briefly introduce which ones in the next section.
Information: If you would like to learn more about the Schweinswaltage 2026, it is worth taking a look at the event’s official website. There you will find further information about the programme and the individual activities. You can also report harbour porpoise sightings there.
Birds in Wilhelmshaven
On my way from my accommodation to the Wattenmeer Visitor Centre in the morning, I already encountered the first birds along the Bontekai and the Südstrand promenade. A lesser black-backed gull (top left) was resting on the water, while a cormorant (top right) had made itself comfortable on a street lamp. Barn swallows (middle) were also already busy in the area. Along the promenade, I also spotted carrion crows (bottom left) and wood pigeons (bottom right). For a brief moment, an oystercatcher (bottom) flew over me loudly calling, drawing attention to itself. Its distinctive call was immediately familiar to me, even though I only rarely see oystercatchers – usually only when I travel to the coast.
During the boat tour aboard the Helgoland Börte boat, I was also able to observe a few birds – including cormorants, gulls, and oystercatchers. However, the most striking by far were the common terns.
Common terns are exceptionally skilled and agile fliers. Since we did not see any harbour porpoises, I gladly turned my attention to these elegant birds instead. It was fascinating to watch them plunge into the water at high speed directly from flight to catch fish.
Common terns are very similar in appearance to arctic terns.
Arctic terns had already fascinated me in Iceland. They are among the most impressive long-distance migrants of all, as they literally “follow the summer.” While they breed in the summer of the Northern Hemisphere, they spend the winter in the Southern Hemisphere – which is summer there again. In doing so, they travel enormous distances each year all the way to Antarctica.
Common terns are also long-distance migrants. However, unlike arctic terns, they “only” winter in Africa and do not continue all the way to Antarctica.
Information: If you would like to learn more about the arctic terns I observed in Iceland, feel free to take a look at one of my earlier blog posts. I saw them there, for example, on the island of Grímsey and on the island of Vigur.
Wilhelmshaven is also an excellent place to observe common terns. Not only during the boat tour, but also in Nassauhafen I was able to spot several of them.
In addition, there is a common tern colony at the Banter See that has been observed and scientifically monitored for many years. Every year, several hundred pairs breed there on artificial nesting islands. At the Common Tern Information Centre, you can also learn a great deal about these fascinating birds.
I would have loved to learn even more about these beautiful and elegant birds at Banter See – but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get there.
In Wilhelmshaven, I was travelling exclusively on foot. If you want to see more in a single day, it may be worth renting a bicycle.
Information: If you would like to learn more about the common terns in Wilhelmshaven, you can find further information that website. There you can also check current opening hours and admission prices.
During the harbour cruise, I was also able to observe a few black-headed gulls and other gull species.
On a short walk that started at Nassauhafen, I also discovered several ruddy turnstones. They are beautiful birds as well – even though I had actually been looking for harbour porpoises. This reminded me of the nature photographers who ended up photographing ruddy turnstones instead of harbour porpoises. And this year’s Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 turned out exactly the same for me. But that is not a bad thing at all.
I discovered a new place, and I am happy to share my impressions here. I am quite certain that I will visit Wilhelmshaven again. Next time, Banter See and a longer observation period at Nassauhafen will definitely be on my list – of course in spring. Because in spring, the harbour porpoises move closer to the coast again…
Information: In Wilhelmshaven there are many more bird species to discover. These include, for example, Eurasian coots, great crested grebes, tufted ducks, as well as white wagtails and many others. Researching which bird species other nature enthusiasts have already observed in Wilhelmshaven on iNaturalist can also be very rewarding.
More informationen
Official website of the Harbour Porpoise Days (only in German)
Reporting a harbour porpoise sighting (only in German)
Species portrait of the harbour porpoise WDC website
The harbour porpoise on Wikipedia
The common tern on Wikipedia
Wattenmeer Visitor Centre in Wilhelmshaven (only in German)
Nordsee-Podcast about the harbour porpoised in Wilhelmshaven (in German)
Germany´s smallest whales on National Geographic (paid article in German)
Did you see harbour porpoises at the Harbour Porpoise Days 2026 event? Or in previous years? If so, feel free to let us know in the comments.
