The Minister of the Sea presented new measures on Wednesday to limit incidental catches of dolphins, ruling out at this stage a restriction on fishing in the Bay of Biscay demanded by environmentalists.
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During a meeting on Wednesday with scientists, NGOs and professionals in the sector, Annick Girardin "
presented a plan based on improving knowledge of the phenomenon, and this before considering any measure to restrict fishing
", indicated the ministry to AFP.
This plan notably provides for imposing “
pingers
” (acoustic devices intended to keep cetaceans away) on all trawlers concerned “
throughout the year rather than 4 months today
”.
It also includes the presence of observers on ships, experimentation with on-board cameras and the strengthening of aerial overflight "
to define the distribution area of the populations of dolphins that frequent the Bay of Biscay
".
In recent years, hundreds of dolphins have stranded on the Atlantic coasts and conservationists estimate at more than 10,000 the number of these protected cetaceans died last winter due to fishing activities in the Gulf of Gasgogne.
Faced with this problem "
which persists
" despite "
well-substantiated evidence
" that they are caught in fishing nets, the European Commission in July opened an infringement procedure against France (as well as Sweden and Spain. ), giving him three months to “
take action to reduce bycatch
”.
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A few weeks earlier, scientists from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ciem) had recommended new measures for the Bay of Biscay to limit these catches, namely "
a combination of temporary closures of problematic fisheries
" and use of "
pingers
" on pelagic trawlers.
A hypothesis of temporary closure which was therefore rejected at this stage by the government.
A “
shameful
”
choice
, for France Nature Environnement.
“
This decision is absolutely irresponsible (...) This non-action constitutes a real right to kill!
", Denounced in a press release Elodie Martinie-Cousty, oceans manager of the NGO who considers"
essential
"a closure of the fisheries in question"
at least between January 15 and March 15, 2021
".
The National Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming (CNPMEM) welcomed this decision.
"
The fishermen reaffirm their desire to deepen the work carried out with scientists in order to find suitable and lasting solutions to stem bycatch
," he said in a statement.