Greenpeace volunteers in the Channel today (8am 15th March 2005) stopped two French boats from pair trawling for sea bass in UK waters - to stop them from killing dolphins in their nets. An hour later (9am) Greenpeace found three dead dolphins with their stomachs cut wide open floating in the sea. The volunteers retrieved the dead animals, whose stomachs are likely to have been slit in an effort to make them sink, onto the Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, for documentation.
Volunteers approached the trawlers Columbine and L'Arlequin in Greenpeace inflatable boats at 8am, about 40 miles south of Plymouth, before removing buoys from the fishing net, forcing a halt to the fishing operation. A school of dolphins were surrounding the boats as the action took place. At least five other pairs of trawlers are operating in the area.
The two trawlers are part of the French pair trawling fleet who dominate the sea bass fishery. The fleet is estimated to kill thousands of dolphins every year. Just last week French pair trawl fishermen in the Channel admitted to Greenpeace that dolphins had died in their nets the previous night (1).
Greenpeace's flagship the Esperanza left Falmouth on the 17 February to campaign for a total ban on pair trawling for sea bass in the Channel, a fishing method that is believed to be responsible for the deaths of more than 2000 common dolphins every year.
Government observers on UK sea bass trawlers last year recorded over 150 dolphins killed by just one pair of trawlers. Government figures estimate that the UK fleet alone was responsible for the deaths of 439 dolphins last year. Greenpeace estimates that the UK and French fleets combined could be killing over 2,000 dolphins a year. If the current kill rate continues it could lead to the extinction of dolphins in the channel.
Opposition to the industry has also been growing in France and recently local line fishermen from North Finistere added their voice to those calling for tighter controls on sea bass fisheries.
Sarah Duthie, head of Greenpeace's oceans campaign, said: "Pair trawlers kill thousands of dolphins every year, independent observers onboard trawlers have said so, and the net damaged dolphin carcasses washing up on beaches tell us the same tale.
"We need action now from Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw. He's got the power to stop dolphins dying a brutal death in these nets and he should use it now."
Esperanza has been gathering evidence of the impacts of pair trawling and taking direct action to stop pair trawl crews from operating. Last week the crew of Esperanza found a dead dolphin floating in the sea approximately 50 miles south of Plymouth, in UK waters, bearing the telltale injuries of having been caught and killed in a fishing net. Within a 12-mile radius of the body, eight sets of French pair trawlers, 16 boats in all, carried on fishing. The female dolphin was lactating, indicating that she had recently given birth.
Greenpeace have also launched a legal challenge arguing that under the EU Habitats Directive, the UK Government is obliged to take swift and effective action to protect the dolphin population.
Further information
For more information please contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
(1) The captain of French trawlers Le Baron and Magellan earlier this month admitted to Greenpeace crew onboard Esperanza that they were responsible for dolphin deaths. When contacted by radio and asked, "Can I ask you if you have unfortunately had any dolphins in your net recently?" they replied, "Yes, we fished two this night".
A recent Natural History Museum report, 'Out of the Blue' found that cetacean (dolphin, whale and porpoise) strandings rose from 360 in 1994 to 782 in 2004. The biggest increase has been in the past five years, according to the report. The surge was attributed to winter strandings of short-beaked common dolphins and harbour porpoises in south-west England.
