Better regulation needed to stop whales perishing in fishing nets
Fears grow for recovery of populations as cetaceans are caught in creel ropes and equipment off the coast, reports
THEY are regular visitors to Scotland’s waters and have become major tourist attractions in their own right.
But dozens of whales are dying each year off the Scottish coast as a result of inadequate EU regulations, according to a new report into the risk of dying in nets to cetacean populations.
Minke whales and humpback whales off the coast of Scotland are among European populations of whales, dolphins and porpoises highlighted as at risk unless EU regulations to protect them from dying as bycatch are changed and enforced.
The report, published in the journal Marine Policy, reveals urgent action is needed for the whales, which can become entangled in creel ropes, while thousands of cetaceans in other waters are affected by gill nets and trawlers.
Lead author Sarah Dolman, of Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), said that around five humpback deaths by entanglement on average each year were enough to prevent the recovery of the population to historic numbers.
She said EU laws which deal with offshore areas needed to be “tightened up, made more explicit and enforced” while Scotland needs its own legislation to protect inshore species and tackle creel entanglements.
She said: “The laws are in place but they are not entirely fit for purpose and they are not being implemented or complied with well.
“We know there are entanglement issues in Scottish fisheries just as there are in other fisheries around the EU.
“The cases we are aware of in Scotland are mainly creel entanglements, whereas in other parts of the EU the problems are more to do with trawlers and gill nets.
“Humpback whales can pick up the rope from the creels in their mouth and carry it with them.
“We know that about 30 minke whales and about five humpback whales each year become entangled and for humpback whales that is probably enough to stop them from recovering from the old whaling days.
“Humpback whales in most parts of the world are recovering and in some parts showing very healthy recovery,
but that’s not happening in Scotland and it does seem like entanglements in creels might be contributing to that.”
For decades, cetacean by-catch has been a major conservation and welfare concern in the EU, with high numbers of harbour porpoises, dolphins and whales dying each year.
According to the paper, despite binding legal requirements to monitor and reduce bycatch, cetacean bycatch monitoring has been insufficient in most fisheries and areas, while measures to reduce bycatch have been limited.
Ms Dolman said the EU’S Technical Measures Regulation had put in place mitigations to protect some dolphin and porpoise species, particularly from gill nets, by requiring “pingers” – acoustic deterrent devices – on gill nets in some regions.
However, she said the regulation did not provide specific requirements for
other kinds of fishing gear including for trawlers of creel nets. And, while the UK Government has implemented the specific requirements in the EU legislation, there were no measures for creels or trawlers, so “no action is taken, essentially”.
She added: “The UK and other countries tend to follow the EU to the letter of the law and so, unless the law is explicit, measures aren’t put in place.
“At the moment we are lacking any clarity for creel fisheries about what should be done.”
The report, Implications of new technical measures regulation for cetacean bycatch in European waters, claims enforcing EU laws would save many thousands of dolphins, porpoises and whales from suffering a horrible death as bycatch.
In particular, the paper highlights urgent action needed for populations of harbour porpoise in the Baltic Proper,
Iberian Peninsula, Celtic Sea, English Channel, and Black Sea; bottlenose dolphins in Andalusia as well as humpback and minke whales in Scottish waters.
There is also a real concern for common dolphin populations in the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay, where around 1200 common dolphins per month, on average, are expected to die in nets this winter.
Ms Dolman added: “If the EU were to ensure Member States implement measures to ensure compliance with EU bycatch laws, we would have a good chance to save the Baltic porpoise from extinction.”
Meanwhile, Scotland’s mallard duck population has dived by 40 per cent in just 25 years according to a new report.
Naturescot’s latest Biodiversity Indicator monitor said the reasons for the fall were “unclear” but suggest climate change may be one reason.
At the moment we are lacking any clarity for creel fisheries about what should be done