SCHOOLS of Common Nosed dolphins together with some porpoises, currently being sighted in their hundreds just 15 miles off the South East Cornwall coastline, are falling foul of fishermen's nets in large numbers.

Local boats out of Looe and Polperro say they have been pulling up the mammals, already dead, along with masses of dead mackerel, which have been discarded as too small, or have been thrown back by trawlers who are not officially allowed to catch them. The carnage is being mainly blamed on the huge industrial trawlers, mostly Danish, French and a few Scottish, which are pair trawling after bass, and casting nets up to a mile wide.

Disturbing

A disturbing sight is the number of carcasses which are also being washed ashore, many of them headless. A fisherman who does not wish to be named, as he is still gathering information, says this is the result of a cruel practice carried out by the industrials. 'When they put down the hoover pumps into the nets to empty them out quickly the dolphins and porpoises are too big to get through and become stuck' he said.

'They are decapitated while still alive to get them out of the way'.

Looe fisherman Phil Curtis of the Bylander, was one of the first local boats to bring up porpoises, and reported his nets full of already dead mackerel with a porpoise among them on two days running. Other fishermen have also brought up dolphins.

Phil's father Ernest, a fisherman for 30 years, who handlines off the Tryu in the mackerel box, said industrial boats should have been banned about ten years ago. 'We get the same problem year in year out' he said. 'The midwater trawlers come into the box where the dolphins, together with their babies, are chasing the mackerel. They get inside the nets with the fish, can't get out and are drowned. It's so sad but they don't give a damn'.

Looe's Mike Pengelly on the Galatea, says he has not brought in any of the mammals himself, but knows other boats which have. 'I have had five or six sightings in the last two weeks of dolphins in schools about 200 strong' he said. 'It is more than I have seen for several years, and it is beautiful to see them playing on the water and jumping together. All the fishermen have been talking about them'.

Polperro's Chris Curtis has also spoken out saying the local fishermen do not like to see the creatures harmed in this way. The local inshore fleets are not to blame because they fish too near the bottom and are not fast enough to net dolphins' he said. 'But these huge trawlers fish almost from the top to the bottom and nothing escapes. They hoover up the sea, they will take anything. This practice should be stopped, as not only are they ruining the fishing industry but also killing these beautiful creatures'. Mr Curtis also said it was ironic that the Danes, who catch the small fish in their tonnes, were not only ruining the food chain for other fish, but then turning them into fish meal for Danish bacon, which the British import.

A spokesperson from the Cornish Wildlife Trust said they are keen to get something done about the tragedy of dolphins and porpoises at government level. 'We want the government to bring this matter up in Brussels' he said, 'but so far we are doubtful. We also need the midwatermen in the fishing industry to be actively involved in coming up with ideas as to how to reduce the problem as they are the main cause' he said.

Gill netters at Newlyn which have a particular problem with porpoises are currently working with the Trust, and the French are involved in other trials as are the Dutch, but unfortunately they have reported they have not yet been successful in finding the right solution.