MEPs take up dolphin crusade

The European Parliament’s fisheries committee on Tuesday is set to push through a proposal to protect dolphins and porpoises.

The plan – intended to prevent dolphins and porpoises being caught up in fishing nets - makes acoustic warning devices mandatory for ships in many parts of European seas.

It also proposes the phasing out of drift nets in the Baltic Sea by 2007, bringing fishing boats in this area into line with those in the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans.

Although MEPs have no legal power to enforce the plan, the move has been warmly welcomed by Europe’s environmental groups, who say it will help protect an endangered species.

According to Gaia Angelini of the international fund for animal welfare (IFAW), “If no action is taken the Baltic harbour porpoise could be extinct within as little as 20 years.” 

But Angelini admits things will be “much more difficult” when the proposal comes under the scrutiny of EU government ministers.

The Scandinavian countries in particular are expected to oppose any restriction on the use of drift nets, as their salmon industry is currently dependent on them.

Angelini argued that equally large catches can be made with dolphin-friendly nets.
She added that the EU’s structural funds could be used to cover the cost of the necessary changes to boats, as has already happened in Mediterranean and Atlantic waters.

 

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