The government should not sign any new international trade deals
unless they contain commitments to protect marine mammals such as
dolphins and whales, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Committee says in a report (attached but under embargo) published
today.
The report comes in the context of biodiversity declining at a
rate unparalleled in human history. Marine mammals are among the
best-loved and most charismatic creatures on earth. They also
play a key role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem through
recycling nutrients in the seas. Yet they, too, are part of the
threatened biosphere – including in our own country. It is
thought that the last remaining coastal community of killer
whales in the UK will disappear over the next generation because
of a variety of threats.
Worldwide, the greatest threat to marine mammals is from
‘bycatch’ - or inadvertent trapping in fishing gear. A scientific
paper suggests that over 650,000 marine mammals are killed in
this way every year. As with all statistics on the issue, the
true number is unclear. By their nature, many marine mammals swim
deep and range far – hidden from the human eye.
Other threats include hunting for meat and body parts (such as
walrus tusks). Hunting is still practised in various countries,
including Norway, Iceland, Japan and the Faroe Islands.
Underwater noise – such as from offshore drilling – is another
danger for animals which depend on their acute hearing more than
any other sense. Marine mammals are also threatened by pollution,
being hit by boats in busy shipping lanes, rising sea
temperatures and disease.
The report recommended that the government should raise the issue
of marine mammal welfare with countries which still engage in
hunting at every opportunity. The UK’s ‘soft power’ should be
used in this way wherever bilateral or multilateral talks take
place, including at trade and fisheries negotiations, the report
said.
The study also called for better monitoring of, and reporting on,
bycatch – through the use of cameras or physical observers posted
on ships. The Committee acknowledged that this would be difficult
and costly for small fishing boat operators, so suggested this
requirement be phased-in over several years, with smaller vessels
being given more time and, where necessary, financial help to
meet their obligations. The Committee called for an action plan
on this, with targets and milestones, by December of this year.
The report said much of the story of marine mammals remains
hidden deep in the oceans, and that more information was vital.
It called for new solutions to monitor marine mammal populations
such as the use of satellites, underwater microphones and
artificial intelligence.
However, while some of the story is hidden, some is not -
including a legal loophole which allows some marine mammal body
parts to be transshipped through UK ports. The report called on
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to take
urgent steps to close this loophole in the short term and
introduce brand new legislation dedicated to protecting marine
mammals in the long term.
The Chair of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee,
Sir MP, said:
“We are rightly appalled when magnificent whales or
defenceless seals are deliberately slaughtered. We can and should
do more to stop this as we sign new post-Brexit trade deals
worldwide.
“But snarling these beautiful creatures in fishing gear
wreaks a far greater toll. Starting with the biggest boats, then
moving to the smallest – giving the small operators time to
adjust – we must stop this industrial-scale killing. We owe it to
our generations to come”
