Fishers accidentally catch many animals such as sharks, birds, whales and turtles. In the Bay of Biscay, it’s mainly dolphins that get caught in nets, and once they get entangled, they have little chance of surviving.
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00:00 Hundreds of dead dolphins wash up on the French Atlantic coast every winter.
00:07 Most of them drown after accidentally getting stuck in fishing gear.
00:12 This is what`s called bycatch.
00:22 Bycatch affects many animals such as sharks, whales, birds and turtles.
00:28 These species, which are often protected, are accidental victims that are not directly targeted by fishers.
00:36 In the Bay of Biscay, it`s mostly dolphins that get caught in fishers nets.
00:42 Since 2016, the number of dolphins in the bay who have become victims of bycatch has increased considerably.
01:10 This is partly due to the fact that dolphins are moving closer to the coast to track their prey.
01:16 And it`s also where most fishers are.
01:18 Interactions are made because fishers catch fish that feed on prey that is the same as that of dolphins.
01:26 We are talking about small fish, especially anchovies and sardines, which are a privileged right of dolphins.
01:32 They are seen in a much more abundant way on the coast.
01:43 Winter is the busiest time for fishing activities in the bay.
01:48 And therefore, when most incidental captures take place.
01:53 Between December 2022 and April 2023, at least 1,000 dolphins washed up on the French Atlantic coast.
02:02 But it`s so far unclear how many of them have died as a result of bycatch.
02:08 According to experts, strandings only account for around 10 to 20 percent of deaths.
02:14 The majority sink or drift at sea.
02:18 Since 2016, there are between 6,000 and 10,000 dolphins estimated to have died at sea in the Gulf of Gascony by winter.
02:29 The mortality rate is worrying, considering that around 200,000 dolphins live in the area.
02:36 The indicators we have, whether on a European or French scale,
02:39 indicate that the level of capture we have today is not sustainable for the population.
02:45 Dolphin population numbers can take years and sometimes decades to recover because of their low reproduction rate.
02:53 Dolphins reach their sexual maturity between the ages of 8 and 13, give birth every 3 to 6 years and live to around 30 years old.
03:04 Like most humans, they only have one baby at a time.
03:29 Over the last decade, the European Commission has introduced many regulations aiming to protect marine life and habitats.
03:38 The common fisheries policy, which seeks to minimize the impacts of fishing activities on ecosystems.
03:45 The habitat directive, which prohibits any form of deliberate capture or killing of protected species.
03:52 And the good environmental status, which aims to ensure that bycatch levels do not threaten the survival of the affected marine creatures.
04:02 Incidental captures are not a new phenomenon.
04:09 The problem was first identified 30 years ago, when most captures were made by trawls.
04:16 These fishing nets are like a big pouch that is pulled along by one or two boats.
04:22 Since 2020, French and Spanish trawlers in the Bay of Biscay have been required to use pingers.
04:39 These acoustic devices are placed on the nets and emit sounds to frighten the dolphins away.
04:45 And the results are quite promising.
04:48 However, this technology can only be used on trawlers, which account for a small portion of the fleet.
05:09 Out of the 600 fishing boats that operate in the bay, only 60 are trawlers.
05:15 The rest of the fleet uses other types of nets, such as gill nets.
05:20 A type of net that is left in the water to trap fish by their gills.
05:25 And attaching pingers onto these very long nets is complicated.
05:30 There are 400 trawlers in the winter in the Bay of Biscay,
05:34 which deploy between a few kilometres and 50 kilometres of nets.
05:38 Knowing that you have to put a pinger every 400 metres, the net, when deployed, moves fast.
05:43 Imagine the number of pingers that would have to be put on the nets.
05:46 In March 2023, the French Conseil d'État, which is the government's legal advisor,
05:52 asked the state to close certain areas of the bay to help the dolphin population recover.
05:59 Closures are backed by both scientists and nature conservation groups as an emergency solution.
06:06 But the consequences could be disastrous for the fishing industry.
06:11 It's very difficult to identify specific areas that need to be closed to limit accidental capture.
06:17 Some boats fish in the same areas, at the same time, at the same time.
06:21 Some have a few captures, others don't at all.
06:25 So, in reality, we're talking about closing the whole of the Gascon Gulf,
06:29 from Brittany to the Spanish coast.
06:31 So 400 ships would be subject to these closures
06:35 in relatively long periods of time, in the early years.
06:39 In response to the Conseil d'État, the French government recently submitted a draft decree
06:45 establishing measures to reduce bycatch.
06:48 This includes an annual one-month ban on pelagic trawling and gill netting
06:53 that will remain in place until 2026.
06:57 However, vessels can obtain an exemption if they commit to using deterrent devices like pingers.
07:04 I don't think it's easy to close fishing areas.
07:07 We have to remember that this is a problem that we've identified for more than 30 years in the waters,
07:12 and that we're still dealing with the same problem.
07:15 I think it's a shame, because it's not necessarily the message we want to convey.
07:19 We'd rather say, "We've worked with the profession, we have solutions to offer you,
07:23 but we can anticipate what we're going to do, and it's going to work."
07:27 It's a shame that after 30 years, we're not able to say that.
07:30 Other solutions include temporarily banning certain types of fishing,
07:35 developing new technologies, and creating more marine-protected areas.
07:40 It's clear that we'll always have activities that will cohabit with the dolphin population,
07:45 so the risk will always exist.
07:47 What we need is maximum reduction.
07:49 That's why we're always looking to find technical solutions
07:53 that will limit the interactions of fishing activities with dolphin populations
07:58 to maintain a balance between the continuity of these activities,
08:02 which are not meant to have accidental captures,
08:05 but we have to remember that they're meant to bring back fish every day and feed the population.
08:11 Closing the bay would help dolphin populations recover,
08:15 but the solution would only be temporary.
08:17 As soon as the fisheries reopen, the problem would return.
08:21 Unless fishing practices change.
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