|
Hopes raised of cut in dolphin deaths
Paul Brown, environment correspondent
20th March 2003
The Guardian
The government has come up with a new strategy to try to halt the destruction of the dolphin and porpoise populations around British coasts.
The cetaceans are being caught and drowned in fishing nets in increasing numbers, raising fears that they could be wiped out.
Elliot Morley, the fisheries minister, who has been urging the EU to take action to save cetaceans, produced his own strategy for dealing with the problem yesterday in response to an ever-growing tide of complaints.
He intends to make "pingers", acoustic devices designed to scare off dolphins and porpoises, compulsory at the entrance to nets, and if necessary close fisheries altogether when it is shown that the mortality rate is too high.
According to the RSPCA, since January this year 156 dolphins and porpoises have been washed up on Cornish beaches, compared with 73 for the same period in 2002, figures which Mr Morley said yesterday were "unacceptable".
One of the fishing methods held responsible for high mortality rates is the pair-trawling bass fishery in the West Country, in which two fishing boats pull nets between them.
After operational delays, experimental nets for bass are being tested again which are fitted with an escape hatch for dolphins to pass through.
Mr Morley is keen on having observers on fishing boats who could provide independent evidence of which fishing method kills most untargeted species. This strategy will also help to clamp down on illegal fishing activities, which many fear are rife, particularly on French and Spanish vessels.
The problem for the British government is that it has no control over the French and Spanish fleets and has to press the European commission to take action.
Mr Morley said: "So far the French have refused to acknowledge it is a problem but I am pressing them again and have had a lot of encouragement from the EU, which is formulating rules of its own along the same lines as our proposals."
Yesterday's proposals were issued in the form of a three-month consultation exercise, but Mr Morley made it clear that he intended to make pingers compulsory at the end of that time.
The RSPCA said the long-awaited proposals were a positive step, but added that the carcass toll would only drop significantly when other European boats followed suit.
Laila Sadler, an RSPCA marine wildlife officer, said: "Healthy animals die a gruesome death trapped, struggling for air, suffering cuts and broken jaws before eventually running out of oxygen."
The RSPCA also welcomed government plans to introduce an accreditation scheme for dolphin-friendly consumer fish supplies.
At Risk
Estimates of cetaceans in British fishery areas
Porpoises
Harbour: 305,000
Dolphins
Bottlenose: 700
Atlantic white sided: 101,000
Common: 142,000
Striped: 74,000
Source:
Top
|
