Trawler cameras could tackle ‘outrage’ of dolphin deaths
Hopes CCTV footage will prove whether thousands of the mammals are being killed by fishing boats
FISHING boats are causing the deaths of thousands of dolphins, the Government fears, as it is set to order CCTV on trawlers.
More than 5,000 dolphins have washed up dead on our shores in the past seven years, which is a 15 per cent rise on the previous seven.
Experts have pointed out that this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to so-called “cetacean bycatch”, as many dolphins accidentally caught in fishing nets and thrown overboard dead or injured sink to the bottom of the sea, rather than washing up on a beach.
At the moment, it is difficult to link the deaths of dolphins to commercial fishing boats, which the creatures often f oll ow, but ministers hope t hat independently audited video footage of their catch could shed light on the issue – and provide a deterrent.
A consultation into the issue is ongoing, but senior government sources told The Daily Telegraph they were “determined” to put the new measures into l aw after a worrying rise i n dead dolphin sightings in areas including Sussex, Devon and Cornwall.
The Fisheries Bill i ncludes the ecosystems objective, which contains a requirement to “minimise, and where possible eliminate, bycatch of sensitive marine species”.
The specific policies, likely to include mandatory, remotely-audited CCTV on vessels of a certain size, will be set out i n the soon- to- be- published Joint Fisheries Statement. There will be further measures laid out in the UK Cetacean Bycatch Plan of Action to be published early next year.
Campaigners say on-board observers or remote CCTV should be compulsory on large pelagic (midwater) trawlers and pair-trawlers. Without these measures, no-one knows how many dolphins are being killed in EU or UK waters. Experts believe it is likely to be in the tens of thousands annually.
John Hourston, founder of the Blue Planet Society, has been campaigning for independent auditing of bycatch for years. He told The Telegraph: “When pelagic supertrawlers are fishing in the English Channel, there appears to be a
‘The massacre of dolphins by the fishing industry is possibly the largest non-cull slaughter on the planet’
spike in common dolphin deaths in this area. The massacre of short-beaked common dolphins by the f i shing industry is possibly the largest non-cull slaughter of a large wild mammal on the planet. It is an outrage that would never be tolerated with any large wild mammal on land.”
He added that European demand for wild sea bass and a shift in distribution of short-beaked common dolphins due to an increase in sea surface temperature may have created a “perfect storm” of dolphin deaths off our coast.
A Defra spokesman said: “Dolphins are a vital part of our marine ecosystem, which is why we are working closely with fishermen to reduce accidental bycatch. We recently launched a call for evidence to examine whether monitoring technology could be used more widely on fishing boats operating in English waters.”