BYCATCH KILLS THOUSANDS OF PROTECTED MARINE ANIMALS IN UK WATERS

A first-ever analysis of bycatch data has found that thousands of protected marine animals, including whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and seabirds, are killed each year as accidental by-products of commercial fishing activity in British waters. The report, titled *Hidden in the Haul: The True Scale of Bycatch*, was produced by Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of voluntary conservation groups. Estimated annual deaths include more than 1,000 harbour porpoises and common dolphins, 10,000 seabirds and 500 seals. Six humpback whales and 30 minke whales were found dead in Scottish creel ropes, alongside over 1,000 endangered Atlantic salmon and 120 tonnes of protected sharks, skates and rays.

The figures were extrapolated from existing bycatch and discard datasets, and Wildlife and Countryside Link says they likely represent only a fraction of the true scale. Only 0.05% of dredging vessels monitor bycatch, and non-UK vessels operating in British waters were excluded from the data entirely. Dredging vessels and bottom trawlers drag heavy gear across the sea floor, a method associated with broader damage to marine life. In English waters, gillnets — static nets that hang like curtains in the water — carry the highest risk for seabird bycatch, with puffins, gannets and razorbills drowning after diving for food.

Richard Benwell, chief executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said the majority of deaths were avoidable through existing mitigation measures. Benwell called on the government in England to deliver on previously promised action regarding bycatch of protected species. Wildlife and Countryside Link has published the report to press for regulatory change across the UK fishing fleet. The organisation described current monitoring levels as insufficient to capture the full extent of annual losses.