The top administrative court of France on Monday asked the government to impose a ban on fishing in different parts of the Atlantic to save dolphins after hundreds of them recently washed up dead on the coast.
The step taken by the State Council, which is the highest court in matters of government, comes days after a report from an oceanographic institute surfaced stating that around 910 dolphins had washed up on the Atlantic coast in France since the start of the winter.
In a single week, around 400 marine mammals were discovered stranded along the coast which the Pelagis oceanographic observatory called an “unprecedented” number in its report. The observatory is based in the western city of La Rochelle.
A legal complaint was filed by various environmental NGOs, including Sea Shepherd, against the government over the deaths of dolphins and porpoises. The organisations claimed that the government was not taking adequate measures to protect the species which are facing the threat of disappearance from parts of the Bay of Biscay along the Atlantic coast.
Regarder la réalité en face : Hier nous avons exposé 6 🐬 aux Sables d’Olonne d’où viennent de nombreux bateaux que nous filmons avec des 🐬 capturés. Nous attendons avec impatience la décision du Conseil d’Etat sur la fermeture des zones de pêche @HerveBerville @EmmanuelMacron pic.twitter.com/kWWQrygfc8
— Sea Shepherd France (@SeaShepherdFran) March 12, 2023
Many of the dolphins discovered had consistent injuries which they had suffered from boat engines, nets and other fishing equipment.
Many dolphins died in February and March when they generally move closer to the coast in search of food and have higher chances of encountering fishing operations.
So far, the government of France has held back from imposing a ban on fishing and instead opted for solutions which can mitigate the impact of industrial fishing on dolphins like onboard cameras or loud sound equipment which can drive the dolphins away.
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However, the State Council on Monday ruled that instruments of “acoustic deterrence” on fishing boats “do not guarantee a favourable state of conservation for small cetacean species” including porpoises and dolphins.
Both the species were facing the threat of extinction, “at least regionally”, it said.
The court has given the time of six months to the government to establish the no-fishing zones and also asked it to increase the monitoring of dolphins’ accidental capture which it said was still too approximate.
(With inputs from agencies)
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