CONSERVATION ISSUES - JUNE 2006

DEEP-SEA FISH STOCKS 'PLUNDERED'

Fish stocks in international waters are being plundered to the point of extinction, a leading conservation group has said. A B.B.C. News report of May 19th said, “Illegal fishing and bottom trawling in deep waters are to blame according to a report from WWF. It says the current system of regional fishing regulation is failing to tackle the problem, with not enough being done to enforce quotas or replenish stocks. Species that are under severe threat include tuna and orange roughy. The orange roughy is targeted by bottom trawlers, which drag heavy rollers over the ocean floor, destroying coral and other ecosystems  The report show pictures of typical bottom cover, and the result of the bottom trawling, as shown below.

Anemones on sea bed	Gorgonians on sea bed	Trawled sea bed

Gorgonians in net	Thrown back dead

The director of WWF’s global marine program said “Given the perilous overall state of marine fisheries resources and the continuing threats posed to the marine environment from over-fishing and damaging fishing activity, the need for action is immediate. Illegal fishing “By highly mobile fleets under the control of Multinational companies” is identified as one of the worst threats to marine life, but the report goes on to attack governments for over fishing.

The regulation of fishing in these international waters is the responsibility of regional fishing management organisations - made up of countries with a vested interest in the area - but according to WWF most are failing to manage fish stocks in a sustainable way. The B.B.C. science reporter said that on the high seas – away from the protection of national quotas  - fish stocks are at their most vulnerable. “It has got to stop, we’ve got to do it quickly. There is hope, but only if we can get responsible management put in place quickly".

Bottlenose Dolphins were reported 9 times during May, from Porthleven on the south coast, to Stepper Point on the north. 2 other reports of dolphins were probably also Bottlenose Dolphins. There was one sighting of Risso's Dolphins, a pod of 3 off Pendeen. Harbour Porpoises were sighted 3 times, unusually from wide ranging areas, from Fowey, Porthgwarra and Sharpnose Point. Basking Sharks were seen 9 times, from Fowey on the south coast to Barras Nose near Tintagel on the north, all of single sharks except 4 off Kennack Sands on the 16th May. Grey Seals were reported 3 times. A Gilthead Bream was caught in the Hayle River. 

There were 131 Cetacean carcases washed up on Cornish beaches, or found floating offshore this year up to the end of April, 92 were Common Dolphin, 16 were unidentified dolphins, one was a Bottlenose and 22 were Harbour Porpoises. There were also 19 Grey Seals. The monthly counts are shown in the table below.

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