The Council of State ordered that this decision enter into force within six months. PHILIP LOPEZ
The common dolphin and the harbor porpoise are threatened with extinction, “at least regionally”, notes the Council of State.
The Council of State on Monday ordered the government to close certain fishing areas in the Bay of Biscay within six months, in order to “limit incidental catches of small cetaceansand ensure the conservation of dolphins in the area.
THE “acoustic deterrents» equipping fishing boats «do not make it possible to guarantee a favorable conservation status for small cetacean species“two of which – the common dolphin and the harbor porpoise – are threatened with extinction,”at least regionally“, notes the Council of State. At the end of February, Emmanuel Macron had estimated that France should “improve (its) practicesto better protect the dolphins, whose strandings in the Bay of Biscay have multiplied, while reaffirming its support for fishermen.
Fisheries deemed responsible for the deaths of many cetaceans
A few days earlier, the public rapporteur of the Council of State had come out in favor of spatio-temporal closures of certain fisheries deemed responsible for the death of many cetaceans. Three associations are at the origin of this appeal, filed in 2021: FNE (France Nature environment), Sea Shepherd France and the association for the defense of aquatic environments (DMA).
The closures requestedwill complement the acoustic deterrent devices by fishing vessels that have already been deployed“, indicated the highest jurisdiction of the administrative order. According to her, the number of dolphin deaths by accidental capture in the Bay of Biscay “each year exceeds the maximum limit to ensure a favorable conservation status in the North-East Atlantic“.
“The accidental capture control system in place remains insufficient to know their extent even more precisely.“, also notes the Council of State which ordered additional measures “to allow more accurate estimation of the number of annual catches of small cetaceans“. The Council therefore asks to continuestrengthening the observation system at sea“.