Dead dolphins bearing the scars of a final struggle in large fishing nets were today (31 March) delivered simultaneously to French government offices in Paris and London. The deliveries came as Greenpeace renewed calls for a total ban on pair trawling - a form of fishing which is estimated to kill thousands of dolphins in the Channel every year.
In London, Greenpeace activists delivered the frozen dolphins to the French Embassy in Knightsbridge. The dolphins were left on the steps to the building. In Paris, the dolphins were delivered to the office of the Fisheries Minister.
Cornwall based artist Kurt Jackson has added his voice to those calling for an end to pair trawling for sea bass - which is killing thousands of dolphins in the Channel every year.
Jackson joined the crew of Greenpeace's flagship Esperanza last week to lend his support to their campaign. As a resident of west Cornwall he regularly sees the end results of the fishery - dead dolphins washed up on Cornish beaches.
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. Since then the onboard team have been gathering evidence of the impacts of pair trawling and taking direct action to stop pair trawlers from operating. The crew have also collected dead dolphins from the sea for later delivery to the Institute of Zoology for full post mortem.
Greenpeace has found seven dead dolphins in under three days while investigating fishing fleets in the English Channel. All the dolphins found had drowned and had suffered damaged beaks and torn flippers - injuries likely to have been caused trying to escape from huge fishing nets commonly used to 'pair trawl' in the area.