Irish, British and Norwegian marine experts have reported that Spanish fisherman are devastating the number of deep-water sharks in the northeast Atlantic. This is due to unregulated fishing techniques that will often involve trawlers leaving nets unattended for weeks, in an attempt to maximise profits. However the outcome is that half of the catches are left to rot, causing needless waste. Trawlers have also been known to dump nets that are damaged, which can lead to sea life being ensnared on the seabed, with no way of escaping. An Irish Sea Fisheries Board vessel went trawling for these abandoned nets and found 25 miles of nets, each of which averaged about 100 yards in length.
The problem lies in the fact that what these fishermen are doing is not in fact illegal. EU regulations presently do not have tight enough restrictions to prevent this method of fishing from being employed.
This is a situation that that needs to be acted on…
