Dolphin Deaths Increase in France, Activists Call Halting of Atlantic Fishing

Dolphin deaths have continued along the coastline and off the shores of France, and the number of the dead marine animals has continued to increase in recent years, even as of late January 2023.

Multiple reports indicated tensions between fishermen and conservationists have increased.

Under these circumstances, activists reportedly called for temporary halting fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, near France.

Dead Dolphins in France

(Photo : Photo by FRED TANNEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on January 30, 2020 shows the dead and dismembered body of a dolphin that stranded on a beach in Plovan, western France.

Fatally injured dolphins were also amongst the casualties in the growing marine life crisis off the French Atlantic coast.

In addition to overfishing, increased maritime traffic is also a potential factor in the said dolphin deaths.

For instance, vessel strikes or ship collisions can kill or injure not only dolphins but also whales.

The social and intellectual nature of dolphins towards human also make them vulnerable.

With this, biologists and animal rights activists have called for the temporary cessation to fishing off the French Atlantic coast, as hundreds of fatally injured dolphins washed up on the country's beaches, it was reported on Thursday, January 26, according to the media company Radio France International (RFI).

The issue also prompted the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) to call French President Emmanuel Macron to take action.

Also Read: Dead Dolphins, Turtles Are Washing Ashore in Sri Lanka: Could the Cargo Ship Fire be Blamed?

The Problem of Overfishing

In May 2019, a video report of VICE News revealed that over 1,200 dolphins and porpoises have washed up dead along the shores of France since January of that year.

In addition, Vice Media's current affairs channel also cited scientists from the Pelagis Observatory in La Rochelle that 846 small cetaceans, 90% of which were dolphins, were found dead on French beaches in 2017.

While there were no immediate linkage of the deaths.

Activists have long considered that the cause is the malpractice or neglect attributed to overfishing, which can left dolphins and other marine animals with little or no prey to eat.

In May 2022, the media company France 24 reported that the floating carpet of dead fish, which Nature World News also covered, highlights France's "lax" attitude to overfishing.

Last year's incident involved NGO Sea Shepherd, which allegedly thrown back around 100,000 dead fish into the sea off the coast of France.

Vessel Strikes

Also called as ship strikes, a vessel strike pertains to a collision between any type of boat and an aquatic animal in the ocean.

All sizes and types of vessels, ranging from large ships to jet skis, have the potential hit nearly all marine species, resulting in death or injury of the animal which could go unnoticed by the operator of the vessel, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In particular, documented vessel collisions include large boats like cargo ships, ferries, whale-watching boats, military vessels, and private watercraft used for commercial and leisure purposes.

In addition, most reported collisions involved large whales, seal, or sea lions, the NOAA added.

In addition to the Atlantic Ocean, the US government agency emphasizes that collisions may occur around the globe where vessels cross paths with marine animals, which can be difficult to see by a vessel operator since the former are not always visible from the ocean's surface.