BRIXHAM SEAWATCH – RESUME

 

     1.  Linda Hingley first became concerned about the killing of dolphins in fisheries in 1990. Brixham            Seawatch was started.

     2.  Her husband John has a beam trawler. His active support and that of other interested commercial           fishermen has helped Linda gather very many observations relating to the common dolphin, the            bottlenose dolphin and the porpoise.

     3.  This small voluntary organisation which has never sought funds has extended its observations and          concern to the wider marine environment and the impact of man upon it.

     4.  MAFF has lent support to BSW in recent years. All common dolphins and porpoises which are             washed up dead on the south coast of Devon and Cornwall are first examined and catalogued at           the scene by Linda or her deputy. They are then taken to London Zoo and examined by a                 specialist veterinary pathologist. His autopsies have revealed many details about their manner of           death, including attempts made to sink them, sometimes before their actual death.

     5.  Linda’s figures show a rise year by year of the numbers of dolphins and porpoises that are washed         up. There were 62 in the 2001 mid-water fishing season. Expert opinion suggests that those               washed up represent 1% or less of the total killed. Bottom (demersal) trawling frequently brings            up the rotting remains in the nets.

     6.  BSW is certain that pair trawling for bass and mid-water (pelagic) trawling for the oily species eg,           mackerel are responsible for the large majority of common dolphin deaths.

     7.  BSW believes that it is morally indefensible for the member states of the EU to allow such killing of          these cetaceans to continue. It is also inconsistent with their proper opposition to whaling.

     8.  Sustainable fisheries are in the hearts of good fishermen and that will include the welfare of the            dolphin and the porpoise.

     9.  BSW is doing its best for these creatures by: