Greenpeace has launched a legal challenge in the High Court against the government in order to save dolphins from being caught and killed in large fishing nets.
The environmental group filed papers seeking a ban on all fishing boats from pair trawling for sea bass within 200 miles of the UK - a type of fishing which is responsible for the deaths of over 2,000 dolphins in the Channel every annual fishing season.
Pair trawling involves two boats dragging a net between them. Last year, government observers witnessed UK pair trawlers catching and killing 169 dolphins.
Greenpeace is claiming that, under the EU Habitats Directive, the government is obliged to take swift and effective action to protect the dolphin population.
Last year, the government announced a ban on UK pair trawlers operating within 12 miles of the UK coast. As very little trawling takes place within those 12 miles, and most of the fishing is done by French boats, Greenpeace argued at the time that this move would achieve "nothing".
Sarah Duthie, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, said: "Destructive fishing practices are pushing dolphins around the UK towards the edge of extinction. The government must take action to stop this killing - and that's why Greenpeace is mounting a legal challenge.
"The gruesome death toll of these dolphins is all too visible on beaches every year. All the evidence is available to ban this fishery in order to protect the dolphin population."
The incidental capture in fishing nets of dolphins, porpoises and other marine species is recognised to be a major problem world-wide. It is estimated to kill some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises a year. Overall, it has been estimated that 23% of the global fisheries catch is returned, dead, to the sea.
Further information
Contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
