Fishing and ship strikes: the cetaceans of the Bay of Biscay under pressure

A crossroads of human activity

The Bay of Biscay is not only a haven for cetaceans: it is also one of the most intensively fished areas and one of the busiest for shipping traffic in Europe. This coexistence has a cost, concentrated in two main threats, bycatch and ship strikes.

The winter death toll among common dolphins

Every winter, from December to March, several thousand common dolphins wash up dead on the French Atlantic coast. The PELAGIS Observatory and ICES attribute most of this mortality to bycatch in fishing gear, in particular pelagic trawls towed in pairs (two boats). The strandings recorded represent only a fraction of the animals actually killed, most of them sinking offshore.

The risk of collision

Large cetaceans, fin whale and sperm whale, frequent the deep waters also crossed by large merchant ships. Along the busy shipping lanes, the risk of a collision becomes significant, particularly in summer when these whales come up to feed near the surface.

Going further

These pressures are read against the environment and the distribution of the animals: map of sightings in the bay, plankton and temperature by satellite, bycatch, strandings of marine mammals and chemical pollution.