PETITION: Stop Cetacean Deaths in European Waters

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Stop Cetacean Deaths in European Waters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EU Commissioner Franz Fischler

 

Thousands of porpoises, dolphins and whales are dying in European waters each year, due to entanglement in fishing nets. The Member States of the European Community are obliged, under the Habitats and Species Directive (92/43/EEC), to monitor the incidental capture and killing of all cetaceans, and to take action to ensure that incidental capture does not have a significant impact on the species concerned. They have also made commitments, under the Bonn Agreement (ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS), to minimise, and ultimately reduce to zero, losses of small cetaceans through fisheries bycatch. However, the Member States of the European Community are not complying with the Directive, and are failing to honour their commitments. We the undersigned therefore request that, as a matter of urgency and in accordance with Article 6 of the Amsterdam Treaty, the European Common Fisheries Policy be amended, to incorporate a Cetacean Bycatch Response Strategy.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

SIGN PETITION:http://www.petitiononline.com/ecbc2000/