§ Lord Beaumont of Whitleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Bearing in mind both their obligation to protect porpoises under the agreement for small cetaceans in the North and Baltic seas and the United Kingdom's biodiversity action plan and the present large kill of that species in European fishing nets, what are their specific practical plans to protect the species.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers)The intentional killing, capture or injury of all cetaceans is prohibited by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The impact of fishing nets on harbour porpoise populations and their demographics around British shores has yet to be fully verified. The United Kingdom is currently participating in an EU sponsored multinational project which is investigating the way in which the risk of all marine mammal by-catch varies with gear type, environmental factors and season. It is hoped that the project will develop a framework for assessing the relative costs and benefits of gear modifications and area closures for reducing by-catch.