Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996
WWF warns Mauritania on dolphin deaths

GENEVA, (UPI) -- The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on Wednesday warned the Mauritanian government to stop destructive fishing practices, which recently caused the death of more than 130 dolphins. The three species of dolphins were choked to death by seine nets used by the African country's fishermen who were trying to collect eggs of yellow mullet, also called poutargue or mullet roe, for export to Italy and Israel.

WWF officials said an inquiry undertaken by the Mauritanian park authorities ruled out viral or bacterial infection, heavy metal intoxication or malnutrition as the cause of death for the 130 dolphins. It instead determined the use of seine nets had caused the deaths.

The dolphins were found washed ashore last month in the Banc d'Arguin National Park.
"The mass stranding of dolphins on such a scale is absolutely scandalous," said Cassandra Phillips, WWF's Cetaceans Officer.
"It is one consequence of the unsustainablefisheries that can spell disaster to an area unique in biodiversity and ecological processes."
Phillips said the unchecked fishing could threaten the country's economy. Two-thirds of Mauritania's annual revenue is derived from the fishing industry.

The Banc d'Arguin National Park covers an area of 1.2 million hectares along the Mauritanian coastline and is listed as a World Heritage site. It contains desert shore, mudflats, islands and shallow sea. The park serves as a spawning ground and nursery for one of the world's largest concentrations of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, WWF said.

The Gland, Switzerland-based organization said the greatest threat to the park's wildlife is posed by large trawlers, which come nearer and nearer to the shore, destroying entire communities of sea-bed wildlife. Traditionally, indigenous people used dolphins to drive mullets into circular fishing nets, but growing competition and demanding export markets have resulted in more unscrupulous and illegal ways of catching fish, WWF said.



Back to MENU