The UK’s action to prevent whales, dolphins, porpoises and other marine mammals dying as a result of being caught in fishing nets – bycatch – has spared it from US Government trade sanctions on fish products. However, despite the UK’s actions to date, ongoing bycatch in British and European waters remains a significant concern. The […]
Tens of thousands of dolphins, porpoises and whales (collectively known as cetaceans) are dying every year in European waters as a result of being bycaught in fishing gear – and some populations are coming perilously close to extinction. A new EIA report released today (6 May) reveals that the degree of bycatch is so serious […]
EIA has identified 15 populations of cetaceans (the collective term for whales, dolphins and porpoises) that are threatened due to bycatch in European waters – especially among harbour porpoises, with an estimated 35,000 deaths each year, mainly in static fishing nets. The level of bycatch in European waters is so serious that several populations of cetaceans are endangered and face potential extinction despite binding legal requirements to adequately protect them.
Despite decades of scientific attention to this issue, there are no harbour porpoise populations in European waters where bycatch has been adequately managed and prevented
Thanks to a welcome French court decision, thousands of common dolphins in the Bay of Biscay will be saved from entanglement and death in fishing gear.