Appeal to help save Cornwall’s dolphins

21/10/2008 15:29:21 Cornwall Wildlife Trust is appealing for donations for pingers that could save hundreds of Cornwall's dolphins and porpoises.

October 2008. The Trust wants to conduct a trial of acoustic ‘pingers' on fishing vessels which , it is hoped, will deter dolphins and porpoises away from fishing nets. Pingers emit a regular sonic noise which can be heard by dolphins and porpoises and scare them away. Cornwall Sea Fisheries officers are supporting the Trust in this project and have already identified three fishermen who are interested in participating in the trial.

Mass stranding
Tom Hardy, Marine Conservation Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust says; "The stranding of 26 common dolphins in Froe Creek this summer was a big shock to everyone. It is a tragedy that so many animals died in one day but these deaths are only a fraction of the number of animals that die each year in fishing nets".

1,100 dead dolphins, porpoises and whales
Since 1995 Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network volunteers have recorded over 1,100 dead dolphins, porpoises and whales, collectively known as cetaceans, washed up on Cornwall's beaches. Entanglement in fishing gear is the most common cause of death for these animals, with over 70% confirmed as bycatch.

Tom Hardy Marine Conservation Officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust said "Cornwall Wildlife Trust need to start work now on the pinger trials so that, working together with fishermen we can protect dolphins from net entanglement before it's too late."

Mandatory in Europe
Since 2004 EC member states have been obliged to make pingers mandatory on vessels greater than 12 metres in length using static nets. However the UK government is yet to implement this in our seas. In addition there are currently no efforts to tackle bycatch of cetaceans in smaller vessels, less than 12 metres in length; which fall outside EC regulation.

Another crucial element of this trial will be investigating the reaction of different species to the pingers. The Trust will monitor this using C-PODs; devices which record and log the sounds of cetaceans invented by Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Dr Nick Tregenza. Several C-PODS will be deployed off fishing vessels in order to assess the approach rate of the animals to the boats. The Trust is also proposing to deploy C-PODs off moorings in St Austell Bay and Mounts Bay, two areas where bycatch has historically occurred.

Dr Nick Tregenza said "Our bottlenose dolphins need every bit of help they can get. Reducing the risk of death in static nets is a really important contribution to giving them the chance to really re-establish the Cornish population."

Donations
Cornwall Wildlife Trust is asking for donations to fund this project, and any donations can be used as match funding, for every £1 you give, they can get up to £10 worth of funding and all donations will be used solely for the pinger trial. One pinger costs £55, a mooring costs £150 and a C-POD costs £1000.

This appeal has already attracted interest from local business and is being supported by children's organic clothing company Frugi.

Lucy and Kurt Jewson co-founders of Frugi said "We've been supporting Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Standings Network for over two years as the cutting edge research work that they do is amazing. We want to help the Trust raise as much money as possible to save Cornwall's dolphins and would encourage other businesses to do the same and donate today."

The public and business alike can all donate to this appeal. The Trust has a target to raise £15,000, so please donate today by visiting www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk or calling (01872) 273 939 and you could help save Cornwall's dolphins.