At last … some action … although it should have come from the EU institutions. The ongoing issue of cetacean bycatch which is not going to go away unless concerted action is taken. Further evidence of NGO collaborations providing the muscle to hold governments to account.

WDCS 22 environmental NGOs, led by Whale and Dolphin Conservation, ClientEarth and Seas At Risk, have jointly called on the European Commission to take legal action against 15 EU governments for failing in their legal duty to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises in the North East Atlantic from capture in fishing nets (bycatch).

The groups also call for emergency protection measures to be brought in for Baltic harbour porpoises, led by Coalition Clean Baltic, and North East Atlantic common dolphins to immediately prevent further deaths in these populations.

Bycatch is the biggest global killer of whales and dolphins, who face a horrific death if caught in a net. If they can’t surface quickly enough, they suffocate. In their desperation to escape, some tear muscles, break teeth, and sheer off fins. Those that do escape can be left with painful injuries and can die weeks later as a result.

The situation is particularly critical for some dolphin and porpoise populations. The North East Atlantic short-beaked common dolphin, has suffered high bycatch for decades, as evidenced by the stranded dolphins washing up on the coasts of Ireland, United Kingdom, France and Spain. This culminated this past winter in 1,200 dolphins washing ashore along the French coastline alone, over 80% of which were diagnosed as having been bycaught. These numbers are only the tip of the iceberg, as for every dolphin body landing on a beach, many more decay at sea. Marine biologists warn that commercial fisheries are now a major threat to this dolphin population. To prevent thousands of more deaths next winter, the fisheries responsible should be closed in the targeted period when the highest level of bycatch occurs.

The Baltic harbour porpoise is critically endangered, with only a few hundred left. One single incidental killing of a fertile female could have a devastating impact on the ability of the population to recover. To prevent the collapse of the population, emergency measures include a range of spatial closures of harmful fisheries in the Marine Protected Areas, and mitigation elsewhere in the Baltic Sea.

“Whales, dolphins and porpoises are granted ‘strict protection’ under European legislation. Yet, poor implementation of the law means many thousands of dolphins, porpoises and whales die in fishing gear in European waters every year. The scientific evidence has shown us for decades that existing bycatch monitoring, mitigation and prevention are woefully inadequate. We need to act now to rectify this”, said Sarah Dolman, Policy Manager at Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Click here to read more.