There is currently a lot of political tension in the United Kingdom, with Brexit hanging over the heads of everyone.
The conservative party winning the general election means that party leader and Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to move ahead with his plan for the UK to withdraw from the European Union by January 31st, 2020.
This is concerning for many people for many different reasons, but one thing that people may not have considered is how wildlife is affected, and right, now dolphins are already being drastically impacted.
A Care2 petition states: “The European fishing presence in the English Channel has been at an all-time high, likely because of the expected divorce of UK fishing regulations from EU standards post-Brexit.”
There is a high volume of fishing vessels, also known as trawlers, in the English Channel.
Dolphins get caught in fishing lines and the trawlers’ nets. Unable to come up for air, the dolphins drown and their bodies are discovered when the crews pull up their nets to see their haul.
They throw their bodies back into the water where they are picked at by seagulls. There is no system to report the dolphin casualties caused by the nets and lines.
In just six weeks,ten dolphins washed ashore due to the record number of super trawlers fishing near the British coast as preparation for the new EU/UK fishing regulations.
It’s understandable that people might be concerned for their livelihood under such political tensions, but there has to be regulation to protect the dolphins dying painfully and unnecessarily.
Sign this petition to demand that the EU decrease the number of trawlers!
This article was first published by OneGreenPlanet on 20 December 2019.
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