Dolphin strandings increase around the Cornish coast

27/01/2009 17:30:51 January 2009. The Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network has reported an increase in stranded dolphins in recent weeks. Over a 3 day period, between 17th and 19th January, the Marine Strandings Network's volunteers have responded to calls to six strandings: three harbour porpoises and three common dolphins. These stranded animals were found all around the county from Bude on the north coast, to Praa Sands in the west and eastwards to Porth Luney near St Austell.

Fishing gear
Tom Hardy, Marine Conservation Officer for the Trust says "This is sadly something that's often seen at this time of the year when some fisheries are more active. Seeing so many strandings in such a short period is worrying, especially as some of the animals show clear marks of accidental entanglement in fishing gear."

Tom continues: "Records made over many years in Cornwall have shown the link between certain fishing methods and dead stranded cetaceans and this has been confirmed in the many dolphins that are sent for post mortem examination. The fact that some of the recently stranded dolphins show evidence of bycatch in fishing nets suggests the problem has not gone away."

Pinger acoustic deterrents
Cornwall Wildlife Trust has been campaigning for protection of our dolphin populations for many years. Their recent appeal to raise funds for a ‘pinger' trial was a huge success thanks to the generosity of the public and raised over £15,000. The Trust is pleased to announce that this money has been successfully used as match funding to secure a grant from the Fisheries Challenge Fund, a Defra project, meaning even more funds are available to run the trial. Pingers are acoustic deterrent devices which emit a sonic signal that alerts dolphins to the presence of fishing nets. They have been shown to effectively reduce bycatch in certain fisheries, such as those using fine monofilament nets which dolphins often don't see. This has been a problem in Cornwall for both harbour porpoises and common dolphins and the fishing industry and Cornwall Wildlife Trust are both keen to find a solution.

Five fishermen helping with trial
Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee (CSFC) is working in partnership with Cornwall Wildlife Trust on this project and has already found five fishermen who are willing to take part in the trial. The trial aims to prove the effectiveness and practicality of pingers on smaller inshore vessels up to12 metres long.

CSFC Senior Fishery Officer Simon Cadman says "No-one, including fishermen, wants to see these animals caught in nets and we hope the pinger project will prove beneficial in demonstrating a practical solution for preventing accidental cetacean bycatch".

The Trust hopes to begin the pinger trial this spring and is currently researching which type of pinger will be most suitable.

The Trust urges the public to report all dolphin and marine animal strandings to Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network on 0845 201 2626.

For more information on the Marine Strandings Network Cornwall Wildlife Trust, visit www.cwtstrandings.org or contact the Trust on 01872 273939.