MEP Graham Watson - EU must act to stop porpoise and dolphin deaths

4.33.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 23rd Apr 2008

Following the discovery this week of two further dead porpoises on Westcountry beaches, at Slapton Sands near Dartmouth and Torquay, Devon, local Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, Graham Watson commented following his recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Commission on the plight of these marine mammals.

Graham Watson commented;

"The need for greater protection for dolphins and porpoises was identified ten years ago. For over a decade I have tabled questions in Parliament, met Commissioners and lobbied UK Governments to get both the Commission and Member State governments to provide greater protection of these marine mammals.

Whilst the UK Government has made some steps in the right direction, I believe more can be achieved both domestically and through the EU, to stop these unnecessary deaths. I will redouble my efforts to push for better legislation protecting cetaceans."

Editors note:

In 2006 719 dolphins were washed ashore around the UK coast. To protect marine mammals the UK Government implemented a ban on bass pair trawling within 12 miles of the coast. Yet despite evidence presented to the Commission, the ban remains applicable only to UK vessels.

For a full text of Graham Watson's Parliamentary Question and the reply by Commissioner Joe Borg, EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs please visit;

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2008-1012+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN