Historic move welcomed by Greenpeace
The government today committed to banning the UK pair trawling fishery which is responsible for hundreds of dolphin deaths every year in a move welcomed and congratulated by Greenpeace.
The decision follows a campaign by Greenpeace which involved the launch of a legal challenge and the delivery of a dead dolphin encased in ice left on the Government's doorstep recently.
The Government will seek emergency European legislation to ban the UK sea bass pair trawling fishery, which involves two boats dragging a net which can have a mouth the size of two football pitches. If the case for emergency action through the European Commission is not successful, then the Government will seek a ban on pair trawling for UK boats and in UK waters.
Sarah Duthie, Greenpeace oceans campaigner said: "This historic move by the Government must be welcomed and congratulated. It will save the lives of hundreds of dolphins every year.
"It will certainly be hard work getting this emergency action through the European Commission but the Government has committed itself to banning pair trawling in UK waters if this is not successful.
"This announcement was rather timely, given that Ben Bradshaw, the Fisheries Minister, only had one more day left to reply to our legal challenge demanding that this fishery be closed.
"An estimated 10,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in fishing nets around the UK. The Government has taken the first step and it's now time for other countries to follow this example. The UK Government must now address other critical bycatch problems such as the damage caused to the harbour porpoise population by the set net fleet."
Further information
For more information, please contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
