the Council of State orders the government to close fishing areas

The Council of State ordered the government on Monday March 20 to close certain fishing areas in the Bay of Biscay within six months. The objective is to “limit incidental catches of small cetaceans” and ensure the conservation of dolphins in the area. THE “acoustic deterrent devices” equipping fishing boats “do not make it possible to guarantee a favorable conservation status for small cetacean species”reveals the Council of State.

Two species, the common dolphin and the harbor porpoise, are threatened with extinction, “at least regionally”, he adds. Three associations are at the origin of this appeal, filed in 2021: FNE (France Nature environment), Sea Shepherd France and the association for the defense of aquatic environments (DMA).

Maximum limit of dolphin deaths reached in the Northeast Atlantic

Closings requested “will complement the acoustic deterrent devices by fishing boats that have already been deployed”, ensured the highest jurisdiction of the administrative order. According to her, the number of dolphin deaths by accidental capture in the Bay of Biscay “exceeds the maximum limit each year to ensure a favorable conservation status in the North-East Atlantic”.

“The accidental capture control system put in place remains insufficient to know their extent even more precisely”, also notes the Council of State. He therefore asks to continue “strengthening the observation system at sea”. At the end of February, Emmanuel Macron had estimated that France should “improve (its) practices” to better protect dolphins, whose strandings in the Bay of Biscay have multiplied, while reaffirming its support for fishermen.