Seabirds dying in fishing nets: Expert in call for action (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Seabirds dying in fishing nets: Expert in call for action
1:00pm Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in News By Joanna Codd
Bird expert Paul Morton is calling for urgent action to stop sea birds getting caught in fishing nets off the Dorset coast
A BIRD expert is calling for urgent action to prevent seabirds becoming caught up in fishing nets off the Dorset coast.
Paul Morton spoke out after witnessing razorbills and guillemots drowning off Studland beach. He was unable to save them because he was on shore.
Film footage has also been released online showing birds either dead or dying after becoming snagged in a short section of fisherman’s netting near Portland Bill.
Razorbills and guillemots spend most of their lives at sea, diving for small fish and only coming ashore to breed. Nesting sites include the steep cliffs of the Jurassic coast.
Mr Morton, former warden at the RSPB’s Arne reserve, said: “These birds are threatened in the UK. They have a very small breeding population. They are being trapped and disposed off without anybody being told.
“The Portland video is of two to three metres of netting. You can only see the birds on the surface, but according to the RSPB, the majority of birds are trapped under the water.”
Mr Morton warned that the numbers involved meant the problem was having a ‘devastating and destructive’ effect on local populations. “These are birds that are spending the winter foraging on open water before they start returning to their breeding sites in March.”
And with the Studland area home to the UK’s largest wintering population of black-necked grebes, which also dive for fish, he is concerned that they are also falling victim to the nets.
He hopes to involve fishermen in talks to try and alleviate the problem. “I have no issue with people trying to make a living from fishing, but methods need to be looked at,” he said.
In Yorkshire, the RSPB has been working with the Environment Agency, Natural England and local fishermen to reduce the number of seabirds caught up in nets around Filey Bay. A voluntary code of conduct was introduced in 2009, and the following year a bylaw was adopted.
Now the Filey fishermen must take their nets out of the water at night during the crucial breeding month of June. Their nets must also be attended while they are in the water and have to be made of high-visibility material.
“The other issue is that if a bird does go into a net and a fisherman fails to save it, it could trigger an offence of causing unnecessary suffering under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act,” said Mr Morton, whose new Birds of Poole Harbour group will promote conservation in the internationally important site.
Comments(4)
elite50
says...
7:15pm Wed 2 Jan 13
TD61 wrote:You have obviously never tried to make a living as a fisherman.
While the Wildlife Act can be used to prosecute any fishermen who fail to attempt to save birds caught in their nets, in reality the chances of being caught and prosecuted are VERY slim, so I doubt many unscrupulous fishermen would bother.
What is needed is more enforcement and bylaws such as those in Filey, but since the Marine Police services are being cut I very much doubt this will happen - and certainly not around Poole Harbour. More's the pity!
We will all lose out seeing these beautiful birds, for the simple reason that most fishermen just don't care any further than how much money they can make and the amount of discarded netting and other fishing items such as hooks etc is proof of that :o(
It is very easy to take the high moral ground whilst you are safe on-shore. Maybe you should give it a try and THEN criticise.
TD61
says...
7:29pm Wed 2 Jan 13
elite50 wrote:You are very much mistaken. Many of my immediate family make their living from the sea and have done so for at least four generations in Poole.
TD61 wrote:You have obviously never tried to make a living as a fisherman.
While the Wildlife Act can be used to prosecute any fishermen who fail to attempt to save birds caught in their nets, in reality the chances of being caught and prosecuted are VERY slim, so I doubt many unscrupulous fishermen would bother.
What is needed is more enforcement and bylaws such as those in Filey, but since the Marine Police services are being cut I very much doubt this will happen - and certainly not around Poole Harbour. More's the pity!
We will all lose out seeing these beautiful birds, for the simple reason that most fishermen just don't care any further than how much money they can make and the amount of discarded netting and other fishing items such as hooks etc is proof of that :o(
It is very easy to take the high moral ground whilst you are safe on-shore. Maybe you should give it a try and THEN criticise.
That is how I can say with certainty that many fishermen do NOT care about wildlife - I have witnessed it myself both from the shore and from a boat and so have my husband and two sons.
My husband has even reported what he has seen at least twice and nothing gets done about it by the authorities - hence why it is still a daily occurrence - as is drag netting along the entrance to Wareham River.
Fishing with nets should be done in a controlled manner and with care for the environment and wildlife - it is simply not good enough to take a boat out to sea, drop the nets and leave them there for days on end as many do around Hamworthy and Baitor.
Net fishing to many means a quick buck by dragging as many fish out of the sea as they can, regardless of the consequences to anyone and anything else.
Stand on the shore or take a boat out around Hamworthy or Baitor and see what I mean - you will see absolutely miles of discarded and carelessly placed netting. It simply is not good enough!
O'Really
says...
10:05am Thu 3 Jan 13
~
I agree completely with Mr Morton that we need to protect our sealife better.
There have been a number of sea reserves created, but without proper enforcement these are just reserves in name only.
TD61 says...
3:30pm Wed 2 Jan 13
What is needed is more enforcement and bylaws such as those in Filey, but since the Marine Police services are being cut I very much doubt this will happen - and certainly not around Poole Harbour. More's the pity!
We will all lose out seeing these beautiful birds, for the simple reason that most fishermen just don't care any further than how much money they can make and the amount of discarded netting and other fishing items such as hooks etc is proof of that :o(