As dolphin strandings multiply on the Atlantic coast, Emmanuel Macron felt that France should “improve (its) practices” to better protect them… while reaffirming its support for fishermen.
According to the Pelagis observatory, 395 small cetaceans were found dead on the French Atlantic coasts from December 1 to February 15. Most (90%) are common dolphins, a protected species, and a “large majority” showed “traces of capture in fishing gear”.
Friday, the public rapporteur of the Council of State spoke out in favor of the implementation within six months of spatiotemporal closures of certain fisheries deemed responsible for the death of many cetaceans. Its opinions are generally followed by the highest French administrative court whose decision is expected within three weeks.
“It’s a court decision, it must be respected,” reacted the head of state, interviewed by the online media Vakita on Saturday during his visit to the Agricultural Show. “We need to improve our practices”, he acknowledged, judging that the scenes of dolphins stranded on the French coasts were “shocking”. President Macron nevertheless insisted on the need to “support” fishermen who could be affected by the suspensions.
NGOs welcome
“We will continue to improve our systems, to invest, and it will be very largely public money (…), to be able to stop practices that are dangerous and in any case better prevent them”, a- he continued. “This is a problem that I take very seriously, I am shocked, but I am while remaining very respectful of our fishermen” who must “not be abandoned” nor “stigmatized”, declared Emanuel Macron.
These remarks were welcomed on Sunday by the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), which has been warning for several weeks about the multiplication of strandings this year. ” Finally ! The President says to himself shocked by captures”, she welcomed, calling on him to “prohibit murderous practices without delay”.
The LPO, like the NGOs at the origin of the appeal to the Council of State – France nature environment (FNE), Sea Shepherd France and the association for the defense of aquatic environments (DMA) – is calling for a three-month suspension of non-selective peaches in winter and one month in summer.
Until now, the French government has favored measures to document the phenomenon and technical solutions, such as on-board cameras or repellents on boats.