The European Commission has moved to a new stage of infringement proceedings against Portugal, considering the measures adopted to monitor and prevent the accidental bycatch of cetaceans associated with fishing activities to be insufficient. The issue, recently highlighted by the newspaper Público, follows up on a concern previously addressed by CESAM, based on scientific evidence pointing to concerning levels of dolphin mortality in Portuguese waters.
In April this year, CESAM highlighted the scientific contribution of Catarina Eira, a CESAM researcher and professor at the Department of Biology of the University of Aveiro, to understanding the scale of this problem. The data released at the time indicated that at least one dolphin per day dies in Portugal as a result of interactions with fishing gear. These estimates may be conservative, as some mortality occurs at sea and therefore goes unrecorded.
The situation has now taken on a new dimension at European level. According to Público, the European Commission considers that Portugal is still failing to adequately prevent the accidental bycatch of cetaceans and has given the country two months to adopt measures. The case may be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union if Portugal’s response is deemed unsatisfactory.
The protection of cetaceans is provided for under European legislation, particularly the Habitats Directive, which establishes obligations for the protection and conservation of these species. Member States must monitor the incidental capture and killing of cetaceans and, based on the information collected, take further research or conservation measures as required to ensure that such incidental capture and killing does not have a significant negative impact on the populations concerned.
Species of particular relevance in Portuguese waters include the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). The interaction of these and other protected marine species with certain types of fishing gear has been the subject of research in recent years, with a view to identifying the areas and activities posing the greatest risk and developing measures capable of reducing mortality associated with accidental bycatch.
CESAM has contributed to advancing knowledge in this field through several research projects. These include LIFE+ MarPro, coordinated by Catarina Eira, which brought together several national institutions with the aim of improving knowledge and conservation of cetaceans and seabirds in mainland Portugal, including the development of measures to mitigate accidental bycatch in fishing gear.
This new development at European level reinforces the relevance of ongoing research in this field and the importance of robust monitoring systems to assess the scale of accidental bycatch and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation measures. Scientific evidence plays a key role in identifying the fishing gear and areas associated with the greatest risk, developing solutions to reduce interactions between fisheries and cetaceans, and supporting public policies for marine biodiversity conservation.
The research carried out at CESAM thus contributes to a deeper understanding of the impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems and supports the development of conservation and management measures grounded in scientific evidence.
Original article: Público – “Bruxelas ameaça levar Portugal a tribunal por falhar protecção de golfinhos”
Related article: CESAM research highlights the impact of accidental bycatch on dolphin mortality in Portugal