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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 Wallström on behalf of the Commission
(15 November 2000)
Under Article 17 of the "Habitats Directive"(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' 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' 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. |
