With more than 135,000 people signing a petition to stop dolphins dying in fishing nets, Dr Neil Hudson MP met with representatives of major marine mammal NGOs to better support sea life in our waters.
Following the publication of a wide-ranging report into protecting marine mammals that Dr Hudson initiated and co-authored with Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee MPs; Dr Hudson is working alongside Whale and Dolphin Conservation, World Cetacean Alliance, Sussex Dolphin Project and Blue Marine Foundation to make fishing safer for marine mammals.
Cetaceans - marine mammals such as whales, dolphins and porpoises - , along with other marine mammals like seals, are at risk of being severely injured or killed when becoming entangled in commercial fishing gear in UK waters. Known as bycatch, it is estimated some 300,000 cetaceans die from being needlessly caught worldwide.
To counter this, the UK's Conservative Government is in the process of a remote electronic monitoring (REM) consultation to implement a range of technological solutions such as cameras, gear sensors, GPS units and much more. This will enhance data collection to support reform to fisheries management and Dr Hudson is keen to see new REM technologies rolled out as fast as practicable.
Currently Marine Management Organisation rules state that fishers in UK waters must self-report all cetacean bycatch withing 48 hours of their fishing trip. However, since this rule was implemented in 2021 only two reports have been submitted - both of which came from vessels involved in a DEFRA trial.
This is in stark contrast to with the Conservative Government's Bycatch Monitoring Programme (BMP) which estimated that over 1500 small cetaceans fall victim to bycatch each year, evidencing a significant issue with underreporting cetacean bycatch.
As such Dr Hudson has joined with leading charities to call for cameras to be rolled out quickly and be made mandatory on all commercial fishing vessels.
Having worked on veterinary projects across the world to improve marine mammal welfare, Dr Hudson is a passionate advocate for marine life. As such, he triggered an official inquiry into the issue, through his role on the EFRA Committee. The resultant report called for stronger measures to tackle the problem of bycatch by introducing mandatory bycatch monitoring and called on DEFRA to publish an action plan to achieve this, with targets and timelines.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"We have some of the most productive seafood resources internationally, and our sustainable fishing industry has a central role to play in creating jobs and growing the economy.
"Yet this cannot come at the expense of the precious marine mammals that inhabit the same waters.
"Our Conservative Government is clearly committed to protecting marine mammals as evidenced by the ongoing remote electronic monitoring (REM consultation). The direction of travel is clear, but without properly incentivising or mandating REM systems such as cameras, I am not confident we will see the results we require.
"I know I speak for the thousands of people across the UK who signed the petition to stop dolphins dying in supertrawler nets when I say that the public demands we embody the highest possible fisheries standards when it comes to our precious and beloved marine mammal populations."
