France orders protection for endangered whales, dolphins in fishing zone

PARIS, France : Amid the mass deaths of dolphins and porpoises in recent years, France's highest administrative body has ordered the government to protect endangered whales, dolphins and porpoises in an industrial fishing hub in the Atlantic Ocean.

Conservationists are working to keep some species in the zone from becoming extinct, and welcomed by the move.

France's council of state gave six months to shut down areas of fishing in the Bay of Biscay for appropriate periods in order to limit the deaths of common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises that are victims of accidental capture during fishing. It required them to compile a reliable estimate of the annual number of accidental catches.

There are 10,000 dolphins and porpoises killed every year in the maritime zone in western France, with 18,000 deaths a year ago, according to government-affiliated scientists. The fishing industry is widely blamed for the deaths.

It was noted that some species are now in a state of unfavorable conservation, with the common dolphin and harbor porpoise in serious danger of extinction in the region.

This move is a ray of hope for us, but it is bittersweet. We see dead creatures being washed up every day, because so many dolphins are already dead. I hope it is not too late. We have come so far. Even a few years ago, in France, no one knew about these horrors, said Lamya Essemlali of Sea Shepherd France, quoted by the Associated Press.

Conservation groups stressed that dolphins in the fishing zone are already beinghaving in ways that are scientifically consistent with a dying population.