Marine Connection bycatch sample letter

Dear

Every year thousands of dolphins and porpoises die in incidental capture around our coasts. Each winter our beaches are littered with bodies, a grim reminder of the bycatch in our fisheries, occurring further offshore. Many show clear signs of net entanglement, or have broken beaks, where the animals have made a desperate attempt to reach the surface and breathe.

Whilst I am aware of the EU regulations announced in July, 2004 and the steps taken by the UK government to ban pair trawling up to 12 nautical miles offshore to all UK vessels, this has not gone far enough.

As long as other European vessels are still permitted to fish within our waters, dolphins will still be dying. In order to make a difference the ban on bass pair trawling should be applicable to all EU registered vessels. I ask you to support this action, bringing it to the attention of others and highlighting it in any relevant meetings.

Furthermore, I am deeply concerned by the continuation of the bottom-set gill and tangle net fisheries to operate without acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) despite European legislation making the use of pingers in these fisheries mandatory. Whilst I appreciate that finding an effective, practical device for use in the fishery is difficult it is unacceptable to permit dolphins and porpoises to continue to die through net entanglement. Temporary restrictions of the fishery should be implemented as a short-term, immediate solution until an effective and practical mitigation measure has been devised.

Please help stop the needless deaths of so many dolphins.

Yours sincerely

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