To preserve dolphins, the Bay of Biscay is once again closed to fishing, sparking discontent among professionals

Stop fishing for four weeks to preserve dolphins: the measure, which helped to divide by four the accidental captures of small cetaceans last winter, is renewed from Wednesday in the Bay of Biscay. From Finistère to the Spanish border, around 300 boats will remain at the dock until February 20, benefiting from government compensation of 80% of their turnover, which does not quell the discontent of the profession, convinced that Technological alternatives exist to reduce this phenomenon.

For around ten years, the number of accidental catches of dolphins in the area has exceeded the sustainable level estimated at 4,900 deaths maximum, according to ICES, an international scientific reference body. Under an infringement procedure from the European Commission and pressed to act by the Council of State, contacted by environmental associations, the government ordered this closure in the fall of 2023. “spatio-temporal” fishing for mainly boats over eight meters in 2024, 2025 and 2026. This measure, common to preserve fish species threatened by overfishing, was unprecedented on such a scale in the Bay of Biscay since the Second World War worldwide.

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An “emergency measure”

The result is a drop in the number of dolphin deaths due to accidental capture: 1,450 from December 2023 to March 2024 on the Atlantic coast and the Western Channel, compared to 6,100 on average between 2017 and 2023, according to the Pelagis Institute which coordinates the Network national strandings. “It’s effective, the figures prove it”underlines Jérôme Spitz, co-director of the institute based in La Rochelle, who specifies that “common dolphins are captured while feeding”. “This closure was one of the main levers for the reduction in accidental catches, even if there may have been a conjunction of several mechanisms, because outside of the closure periods, we did not have levels very high mortality”he adds.

The coming year could also be different because “we have peak phenomena” in terms of strandings, with sometimes “high mortality in December, other years in March”. “I don’t think the closure in its current form is satisfactory in the long term”he adds, evoking “an emergency measure while awaiting more lasting structural measures which make it possible to maintain economic fishing activity and the long-term viability of populations”. “Closure is the simplistic solution to limit interaction. It is certain that if we prevent the activity, there is no interaction, therefore a reduction in catches”agrees Julien Lamothe, director of the fishermen's organization FROM Sud-Ouest.

No miracle solution

Satisfied with “state support to pursue compensation”with an envelope of 20 million euros also intended for fishmongers, he is especially impatient to “to finally be able to develop large-scale experiments to find alternative solutions to closure, in particular through the testing of repellents”. A little more than half of the 300 boats compensated are already or will soon be equipped with scarers («pingers») or acoustic beacons intended to ward off or warn dolphins of danger. “We now have to show scientifically that it works”also declared Friday the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher, whose objective is “the reopening of the Bay of Biscay for the month of February 2027”.

“At the moment, we do not have solutions that have demonstrated widespread effectiveness”nevertheless warns the co-director of Pelagis. “It is the combination of different solutions that will enable the sustainability of management measures.” He also highlights the usefulness of cameras on board ships to “better understand the circumstances of accidental catches”. “A lot of animals drop out before arriving on the boats, which leads to discrepancies in the perception of the number of animals caught by professionals and which fishermen do not necessarily see.”