The European Union's executive on
Wednesday, proposed to
ban all use of drift nets in EU waters and on its vessels by year's end to
better enforce the protection of dolphins, sharks, swordfish and bluefin tuna.
Drift nets stretching for miles close to the surface
have often been responsible for the incidental capture and killing of thousands
of marine animals that are important to the ecosystem.
They were also responsible for indiscriminate
fishing that often resulted in huge by-caches with little commercial value.
Often they were called the "walls of death" since they trapped and
killed anything within nets that could measure dozens of kilometres.
Fishing with drift nets destroys marine habitats,
endangers marine wildlife and threatens sustainable fisheries, said EU
Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki. The proposal now goes to the EU's 28
member states for approval.
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