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<\/p>\nDolphin strandings have more than doubled on Cornish beaches in the past decade with many being killed in fishing nets and ropes each year.<\/p>\n
Conservationists said that bycatch remained one of the greatest threats to dolphins and whales worldwide. Last month 27 dolphins washed up on Cornish beaches, seven of which were stranded in just eight days.<\/p>\n
Four of the seven sent for post-mortem examination were confirmed to have died as a result of bycatch \u2014 the unintended capture of marine life in fishing gear such as nets, lines and hooks.<\/p>\n
A rise in the number of dolphins moving north into British waters has led to the increase in strandings in Cornish waters since 2015. An average of 200 have washed up around Cornwall each year since then.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that more than 1,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises and up to 9,500 fulmars and 3,300 guillemots are killed every year by British fishing activity, as well as countless seals, sharks, skates and rays.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Allen, from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: \u201cNot all dead animals wash up on the shore, so we are only getting a small proportion of them. The amount of animals dying is a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Bycatch scars are visible on many of the dolphin\u2019s bodies<\/p>\n
Many of the dolphins washed up show the tell-tale signs of rope marks or external injuries on their bodies from fishing gear.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dozens of whales dead in \u2018biggest mass stranding in decades\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Acoustic deterrents, known as pingers, are required by law on fishing gear used on vessels over 12 metres in length, using bottom-set gill nets or entangling nets to reduce the amount of dolphin and porpoise bycatch.<\/p>\n There are no regulations that require smaller boats, used by inshore fisheries in coastal waters, to report bycatch or implement practices or equipment to avoid it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is very little monitoring and we are not getting enough information to do anything about this,\u201d Allen said, adding that dolphins \u201ccannot keep taking this kind of punishment. It\u2019s something everyone needs to step up and do something about. The government has really lost focus on this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar stranding levels have been reported across Europe, raising concerns about the effect on the populations of species such as common dolphins.<\/p>\n