Den Haag, Friday, May 25th, 2007. Every year, hundreds of porpoises wash up along the Dutch coast, only part of which are drowned in the nets of professional fishermen. These are the findings of a study carried out by SRRC Lenie ‘t Hart and the Dutch Fishery union, which was presented today.
Together they carried out a survey of all Dutch professional fishermen. The results agree with the SRRC’s long-running inquiry into stranded porpoises. Though the fishermen regret the by-catch of porpoises in fishnets, the numbers of by-catch remains far below internationally set standards. Fishermen and researchers are now going to cooperate in finding a solution to minimise the by-catch of porpoises.
This study combines the results of a study carried out by SRRC Lenie ‘t Hart into stranded porpoises during the last 25 years and the results of a survey of all Dutch professional sea-fishers. Autopsy details of over 225 stranded porpoises during the period 1982-2006 have been analysed. The survey had a high turnout: as many as a third of the 721 Dutch sea-fishery companies participated in the survey. This survey shows that yearly approximately 15 porpoises are caught accidentally and die as by-catch in nets belonging to Dutch professional fishermen.
That porpoises get caught as by-catch is not a new phenomenon. Cases of by-catch were observed throughout the studied period. In recent years, however, there is a large increase in the numbers of porpoises in our waters. Estimated numbers of porpoises in the Dutch part of the North Sea vary between a thousand to ten thousand animals. This had caused an increased risk of accidental by-catch. It is fortunate that there is much willingness among fishermen to cooperate with the researchers to find ways to avoid the accidental catching of porpoises in the future. The industry is taking responsibility for operating in sustainable ways in the future concerning porpoises, but also with sea mammals in general.05-25-2007 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
