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Animal protection: the anger of fishermen in the Bay of Biscay
Fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean learned on Saturday, December 23, that they will have to put away their nets for a month. This is the result of the referral to the Council of State by several environmental defense associations who wish to increase the protection of dolphins in the Bay of Biscay. – (France 2)
Fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean learned on Saturday, December 23, that they will have to put away their nets for a month. This is the result of the referral to the Council of State by several environmental defense associations who wish to increase the protection of dolphins in the Bay of Biscay.
At the port of Croisic (Loire-Atlantique), fishermen have just learned that they will no longer be able to fish between January 22 and February 20, a measure from the Council of State to preserve the dolphins. From Brittany to the Basque Country, anger is spreading in all ports, like La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime). Every year in the Bay of Biscay, hundreds of dolphins are accidentally caught in the nets, then thrown back into the sea. Some cetaceans then wash up on the beaches.
9,000 dolphins die every year
Fishing bans were already in force, but with numerous exemptions. The Council of State suspended them. “We told the boats that they had to be careful of the dolphins, ‘but if you have such equipment, you can go’. So we were on a false fishing ban”, explains Antoine Gatet, president of France Nature Environnement. According to a scientific organization, 9,000 dolphins die each year by accidental capture on the French Atlantic coast.
