Dolphins threatened by trawler fishing, says Greenpeace

Huge trawler nets are killing an estimated 10,000 dolphins and porpoises in the north-eastern Atlantic every year, according to a report for Greenpeace, published today.

The report, 'The Net Effect', by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, details how thousands of dolphins are being killed each year, and that concerns are being raised that local populations could be pushed to extinction.

Greenpeace has said that species such as the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) could lose as much as 5% of its population each year due to this form of fishing.

The loss of even 1% of a population is considered by scientists to be of real cause for concern, Greenpeace said.

Every winter hundreds of dead dolphins and porpoises wash up on British and French beaches. Many have sustained injuries - broken beaks, torn flippers, bruising, and lacerations which are evidence of a prolonged death in fishing nets. The bodies of thousands of others never wash up and are claimed by the ocean, the environmentalist group warned.

Pelagic (or mid-water) trawling for sea bass, mackerel, horse mackerel, hake and albacore tuna threatens common dolphins and Atlantic white sided dolphins in particular, but also affects bottlenose dolphins and long-finned pilot whales, the report found.

British, French, Irish, Dutch, Danish and Spanish fishing vessels in the English Channel, Bay of Biscay and Celtic Sea have been blamed for the toll on cetacean population.

Stephen Tindale, Greenpeace Executive Director, said: "The gruesome body count that washes up on British beaches every year is just a fraction of the 10,000 dolphins and porpoises killed by fishing nets. Thousands of carcasses never come to shore. The government must take urgent measures to stop this unnecessary killing or dolphins and porpoises could be wiped out from the waters around the UK - a high price to pay for our fish suppers."

In addition to dolphin bycatch in trawl nets, thousands of porpoises around the UK are also being killed each year by fixed fishing nets set on the seabed. Around 6,000 harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) have been caught annually in recent years, and in the Celtic Sea 6% of the population is believed to be killed every year by fishing nets.

(gmcg)