A common dolphin: victim of pair trawling bycatch in the English Channel
Governments from around Europe have watered down laws to protect dolphins and other cetaceans from drowning in fishing nets.
Every year thousands of dolphins and porpoises are killed in fishing nets in the European waters. We revealed that the problem is so serious, some populations risk being pushed towards extinction.
On 22nd March, EU fisheries ministers debated over the wording of legislation to tackle the problem. Eventually they agreed on a severely weakened and compromised version of the text. The result - the new laws won't give dolphins and porpoises adequate protection, but the fishing industry will receive plenty of concessions.
Under the proposed new legislation, observers will continue to monitor fishing fleets believed to be responsible for dolphin deaths. But the number of observers the EU requires is way too low.
Worse, the new legislation contains no clear plan of action to stop the deaths the observers report.
The legislation relies on the fishing fleets using acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) to keep dolphins out of the nets. Yet these devices haven't been properly assessed to see whether they are actually effective.
The regulation was proposed in 2003 after it was revealed that EU member states were failing to protect dolphins and porpoises. Under the EU Habitats Directive, the EU is legally required to do so.
A team of Greenpeace activists toured the English Channel between January and March this year, bearing witness to the problem and documenting the destructive practices of pelagic pair trawlers. We discovered an alarming number of dolphin corpses. The dead animals had severe cuts to their beaks and fins - injuries that occur when dolphins try to escape from fishing nets.
The team on the Esperanza were also lucky enough to be involved in a survey of live dolphins (and other cetacean populations), conducted by scientists from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.
Special feature
Discover what it's like to be a crew member on a Greenpeace ship by reading second mate Mike's Letters Home.
