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British fishing industry 'threatens rare dolphins'
GUARDIAN
16th July 2002
A rare dolphin could become extinct from Britain's waters within 10 years as threats to marine life intensify.
Bottlenose dolphins in south-west England and Scotland are dying out as greater numbers get caught in fishing nets, the Wildlife Trusts says.
The organisation is calling for tougher laws to protect species and habitats and a single Government ministry to manage marine resources.
The report - called Our Dying Seas? - says a record number of 500 dolphins were found stranded on UK shores in the last year.
Post-mortem examinations have shows the majority were injured or drowned in nets.
Dr Simon Lyster, director general of the Wildlife Trusts, said: "Our marine environment is in much more trouble than people realise.”
"We are still fishing in ways that result in the deaths of hundreds of dolphins and porpoises each year, and in the destruction of precious and rare marine habitats."
Two-thirds of the Bottlenose dolphins in Cornwall have disappeared over the last ten years, with only 350 still resident in local waters.
Porpoise populations are also declining, with annual mortality at an unsustainable 6.2%, according to a survey by Cornwall's wildlife trust.
Meanwhile coral and horse mussels are under threat as their seabed homes are damaged.
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