|
A Newlyn fishermen's leader is backing a petition signed by 40,000 people
to put an end to dolphin slaughter by banning bass pair trawling.
Sam Lambourn, chairman of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation and
president of the National Federation of Fishermen, said a ban was the
only way forward. He said: "The number of dolphins being killed by
mid-water bass fisheries is unacceptable and cannot continue. There's
no defence. It has to stop."
He added: "To the best of my knowledge there are no Westcountry
fishermen catching bass in this way. The bass we catch is sometimes caught
by set nets, but more usually by lines. It's sustainable and it does no
harm to the stock."
He said government trials of dolphin-friendly nets using two or three
trawling pairs were insufficient when up against 50 French pelagic trawling
crews. He said: "I do not see any way this is going to stop unless
there's a ban."
Cornwall Wildlife Trust will submit more than 40,000 signatures, collected
since last summer, to the European Parliament in June.
Marine conservation officer Ruth Williams said the presentation had been
delayed to gather more support as awareness of the problem grew following
news that 112 cetacean carcasses were washed up on Cornish beaches, including
Long Rock and Marazion in January and February, a record figure for those
months.
Ms Williams said: "We are specifically calling for a ban on bass
pelagic trawlers who we believe are the worst culprits for bycatch deaths.
There have been various Government recommendations made but none of them
have been strong enough to be satisfactory."
The news came as the Greenpeace campaign ship Esperanza, which was recently
in St Ives Bay, headed home after a seven-week voyage around Westcountry
waters.
The crew hauled their 11th dolphin carcass on board on Sunday after finding
it afloat off the coast of Devon's Start Point.
Greenpeace campaigner Niall Bennett said all 11 dolphins had broken beaks,
cuts or damaged dorsal finds consistent with being caught in trawling
nets. He said six of those had been found within 20 miles of the Cornish
coast.
He said: "It certainly looks from our investigations that this problem
is occurring on a large scale."
He pointed out that the number of dead cetaceans recorded was the tip
of the iceberg as many would never be found.
Greenpeace will collate their evidence and present it to Fisheries Minister
Ben Bradshaw as soon as possible.
St Ives MP Andrew George said the long line method was targeted and resulted
in a better quality of bass.
He added: "As people can make a living fishing bass without killing
other fish in the process, there's every case for banning bass pair trawling."
article copyright © THE CORNISHMAN
 |
