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European Commission Response on Dolphins
MEP Dr Caroline Jackson is demanding tougher action from the European
Commission on dolphin slaughter. The Penzance-born politician has branded the
EC "utterly feeble" in its efforts to halt the slaughter of dolphins off the
Westcountry coast after it emerged that it had not even persuaded the
countries involved to monitor the
situation.
Dr Jackson said she was deeply disappointed by the "relaxed" approach that
the Commission appeared to be taking towards a problem which has led to more
than 1,000 dolphins being washed up dead on the beaches of the Westcountry
and northern France this year, Her comments follow a letter from European
Fisheries Commissioner, Franz Fischler, in which he admits that little
progress has been made in tackling a problem that many conservationists
believe could wipe out the dolphin
population in Westcountry waters.
Dr Jackson said: "The response is utterly feeble. The Commissioner should be
doing something to sort out this problem. It is not enough for him to say
that he is 'disappointed' by the efforts of member states. How many more
dolphins have got to die before he takes action?"
Dr Jackson, who is chair of the European Parliament's environmental
committee, has accused the Commission of being "disappointingly slow" with a
reply to her question asking the Commission if it was prepared to use the EU
Fisheries Inspectorate to monitor the extent of the problem. She also asked
what steps can the Commission take to stop the destruction of dolphins.
She said: "I find it very shocking that the Commission describes merely as
"disappointing' the fact that only eight countries have bothered to reply to
its appeal for information on what steps they are taking to avoid the
inadvertent capture of marine mammals by their fishermen. The good news is
that the International Marine Research Committee is doing research on such
things as pingers, to warn dolphins of the presence of nets, and on the use
of filters to allow dolphins and other mammals to swim out of their nets.
Research is a long way from action and that is what we need. I hope we can
build on the Commission's reference to the fact that under the Common
Fisheries Policy it will be making new proposals for control and observation
measures."
Recently Mr Fischler hinted that he would ban fishing practices blamed for
the deaths of hundreds of dolphins in Westcountry waters unless European
countries moved quickly to deal with the problem.
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