Increasing tension between French fishermen and NGO over increasing bycatch of dolphins

Since 2016, the number of stranded dead dolphins has increased steadily on the French coast. Concerningly, autopsies have revealed that up to 90% of these deaths were due to fishing gear. At this point, the Pelagis Bernard Martin observatory has already counted 149 stranded dolphins in the Audierne bay, 60% more than in the entire year of 2019. However, only 0.4% of the dolphins captured had been reported.

Sea Shepard took up the task to observe the fishermen’s work and expose the immediate problem. This led to a heated discussion between both parties, each accusing the other of fraud and harassment. Sea Shepard rectified accusations of obstructing the fishermen by saying that they would not even have to get that close. “What matters is not the number of dolphins in the nets that we film in view of the limited means at our disposal. What matters is the number of mutilated corpses washed up on the beaches. Whether we filmed them or not, they were indeed killed by fishing gear in the area and the number is unprecedented for this period as scientists are rightly alerted to”.

The tension between the French fishermen and Sea Shepard is mounting over increasing number of dolphins dying as bycatch

On July 2, 2020, the administrative court of Paris has openly conceded that “the French authorities must be regarded as having delayed in implementing concrete actions in view of the observation of recurrent episodes, since the 1990s, accentuated since 2016, of excess cetacean mortality on the Atlantic coast, in particular in the Bay of Biscay. This delay constitutes a failure of the State to respect its obligations arising from European Union law, in particular its obligation to protect cetaceans and to control fishing activities.“ This was directly followed by the European Commission urging not just France, but also Spain and Sweden, to implement the required measurements within three months.

Still, Sea Shepard is not optimistic about the changes. They point out that there were no concrete measures by the Ministry of Sea and that the implemented acoustic deterrents would be counterproductive as they also repelled the dolphins from their feeding grounds. For now, the plan is to install several cameras on the ships to assess the reasons why dolphins get captured.

The full article can be found here: https://alkhaleejtoday.co/international/5189240/In-Audierne-Bay-tension-is-mounting-between-fishermen-and-the-NGO.html