§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the annual number of non-target species that would avoid death through trapping if an EU ban on drift nets were introduced. [43221]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 2 June 1998]: Observers on the UK drift net boats in 1995 recorded 46 dolphin casualties over 9 fishing trips. This implies that 165 dolphins were killed by the UK fleet in that season. A number of other species including sharks are also caught.
France, Ireland and Italy also have active drift net fleets.
§ Mr. CorbettTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made on phasing out the use of those drift nets which are dangerous to dolphins. [42726]