The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ciem) on Tuesday recommended new measures to limit the accidental catch of dolphins in European waters.
In February, the European Commissioner for Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius had deemed the level of accidental catch of these protected mammals "unacceptable". He then asked the Ciem, a scientific body which monitors the ecosystems of the North Atlantic and the level of fish stocks, "an urgent update of their scientific advice".
Temporary closings of problematic fisheries
In a notice published on Tuesday, the Council recommends for the Bay of Biscay "a combination of temporary closings of problematic fisheries" during peaks in mortality and the use of "pingers" (acoustic devices intended to keep cetaceans at bay) on pelagic trawlers outside the closed period. Ciem estimates that the NGO request to close all the fisheries responsible for accidental catches (at least trawlers and gillnets) for four months from December to March, in the North Atlantic, "should significantly reduce accidental catches of dolphins".
The Council also evokes alternatives to ensure the maintenance of the population of this protected species, such as a four-week closure (from mid-January to mid-February) of all trades or an annual reduction of 40% in the effort of fishing problematic fisheries. Finally, it recommends similar measures to avoid accidental catches of harbor porpoises in the Baltic Sea.
A “historic” opinion for France Nature Environnement
France Nature Environnement welcomed in a press release a "historic" opinion from Ciem. France "must now set an example by quickly implementing the closings of the fisheries concerned, starting next winter, from December to the end of April, while strengthening controls in areas at risk", pleaded in a press release its Oceans manager, Elodie Martinie-Cousty.
The NGO estimates that 11,300 common dolphins died in fishing nets in 2019, including hundreds stranded on the beaches. "This season, despite the confinement, it is already 1,160 dolphins that have stranded, which means that more than 10,000 dolphins have died, trapped in the nets," assured the FNE.
Planet
Finistère: Well known to swimmers, the dolphin Zafar found dead in the Netherlands
Nice
French Riviera: A dolphin spends several minutes among bathers and boats
- Planet
- Animals
- Peach
- Dolphin