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France reports record number of washed-up dolphins

At least 910 dolphins have washed up on France's Atlantic coast since the start of the winter, with most deaths believed to have been caused by fishing activities, the Pelagis ocean observatory reported on Friday.

Published: 18 March 2023 11:38 CET

Dolphins at sea

At least 910 dolphins have washed up on France's Atlantic coast since the start of the winter. Photo by Raymond ROIG / AFP

Over the past week alone, more than 400 of the marine mammals were found stranded along the coast, an “unprecedented” number, the Pelagis oceanographic observatory based in the western city of La Rochelle said in a report.

The figures were still provisional, it added.

Early examinations of the dolphins showed that some of them had been dead for days, and others for several weeks.

Most of them showed injuries consistent with being caught in fishing nets, other fishing equipment or boat engines.

Between 2017 and 2020, the average number of washed-up dolphins during the winter was 850.

Most of them died in February and March, when dolphins usually move closer to the coast looking for food and are more likely to come in contact with fishing operations.

READ ALSO: France under pressure to save dolphins from trawlers

Some NGOs and scientists have called for a temporary halt of fishing in those months, but the government has instead opted for solutions mitigating the impact of industrial fishing on dolphins, such as onboard cameras or repellents to keep them away.

In February, the commissioner of the State Council, France’s highest jurisdiction in government matters, came out in favour of a temporary ban in some locations on certain types of fishing deemed to be responsible for many of the dolphin deaths.

A formal decision by the Council is expected soon, after several environmental protection associations brought a legal complaint against the government.

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France's Macron urges end to plastic pollution at global talks

Representatives of 175 nations with divergent ambitions met at UNESCO headquarters for the second of five sessions with the aim of inking an historic agreement covering the entire plastics life cycle.

Macron urged nations negotiating a world treaty against plastic pollution to put an end to today’s “globalised and unsustainable” production model.

“Plastic pollution is a time-bomb and at the same time already a scourge today,” he said in a video message, in which he called for an end to a system where richer countries export plastic waste to poorer ones.

He added that the first priorities of the negotiations should be to reduce production of fossil-fuel-based plastics and to ban “as soon as possible” the most polluting products like single-use plastics.

NGOs – as well as representatives of plastics companies and lobbyists, much to the chagrin of environmentalists – will also take part in the negotiations.

READ ALSO: Top court orders French govt to take more climate steps

In February 2022, nations agreed in principle on the need for a legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution around the world, setting an ambitious 2024 deadline.

Host country France organised a ministerial summit on Saturday with 60 countries to kick-start the talks.

“If we don’t act now, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans”, said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

‘Complicated’

“Combatting plastic pollution will make our lives easier, both in terms of fighting climate change and in terms of preserving our oceans and biodiversity”, noted Christophe Bechu, France’s Minister for Ecological Transition.

The stakes are high, given that annual plastics production has more than doubled in 20 years to 460 million tonnes, and is on track to triple within four decades.

Two-thirds of this output is discarded after being used once or a few times, and winds up as waste. More than a fifth is dumped or burned illegally, and less than 10 percent is recycled.

But scaling up recycling is not a silver bullet, the head of the UN Environment Programme told AFP.

“It is one of many keys that we will need to make this work,” Inger Andersen said before the talks opened. “We can’t recycle our way out of this mess.”

Policy actions to be debated during the talks include a global ban on single-use plastic items, “polluter pays” schemes, and a tax on new plastic production.

Environmental groups are encouraged global plastics pollution is finally being tackled, but are concerned the treaty may not include targets to reduce overall plastic production.

“There is a consensus on the issues at stake and the will to act”, Diane Beaumenay-Joannet, an advocate at the Surfrider Foundation, told AFP. But “the precise content of the obligations is going to be complicated, particularly as regards reducing production.”

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