WRITTEN QUESTION E-3060/00 by Ian Hudghton (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Dolphins and pair trawlers.
Date: 2000-09-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: England, France, fishery management, fishing net, fishing vessel, marine mammal, protected species, protection of animals

C 163 E/30

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

6.6.2001

(2001/C 163 E/030)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3060/00

by Ian Hudghton (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(28 September 2000)

Subject: Dolphins and pair trawlers

With increasing numbers of dolphins being caught up in the nets of pair trawlers off the coast of the south
of England and France, can the Commission provide details of Member State measures to monitor by-
catches, in particular within the scope of the Habitats and Species Directive?

What data does the Commission collect on by-catches, and can it provide the most up-to-date statistics on
dolphin by-catches?

What further measures are contemplated by the Commission to minimise these by-catches, and what
assistance can it provide?

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(15 November 2000)

Under Article 17 of the (cid:145)Habitats Directive(cid:146) (1), Member States are obliged to draw up a report on the
measures they have taken in implementing the Directive, including information on the systems to monitor
incidental catches and killing of strictly protected species. These reports should be sent to the Commission
in the first half of 2001. The Commission is therefore not yet in a position to provide information on the
above mentioned measures or systems. The Commission is however aware of the initiative taken by
Denmark to implement an action plan for reducing incidental by-catches of harbour porpoises (2)
(19 August 1998, J. No SN 1996-402-0035).

The Commission is also aware of the scarcity of reliable information on cetaceans(cid:146) population dynamics
and incidental catches, and the problems caused. Research and monitoring projects, funded either within
the research framework programme or by other Community schemes, will help provide relevant data to
the scientific community working in this field.

The critical role that Member States play in the definition and the implementation of both environmental
and fisheries(cid:146) measures should never be neglected. The Commission is committed to ensuring the effective
application of the existing provisions, including the designation by Member States of sites to protect bottle
nose dolphins, and which eventually will form part of the Natura 2000 ecological network, as required by
the Habitats Directive; and the ban on the use of drift nets (3), the prohibition on encircling mammals with
the purpose of catching tuna, and the prohibition on fishing sandeels in an area where they constitute
a major food item for marine life.

(1) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna an flora

(OJ L 206, 22.7.1992).

(2) 19 August 1998, J. No SN 1996-402-0035).
(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 1239/98 of 8 June 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 894/97 laying down certain

technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources (OJ L 171, 17.6.1998).