More than 2 million seabirds have perished for the last decade since the EU tried for the first time to solve the problem with European fisheries and particularly, that with the death rate of seabirds in fishermen's nets. Aiming to stop the unnecessary bird slaughter BirdLife International and citizens from the whole of Europe unite their efforts to draw the attention of the new European Commissioner – Maria Damanaki. In 2010 BirdLife is struggling for the accomplishment of positive results in connection with the destiny of seabirds. Hopes are getting reinforced by the fact that in 2010 the world is preparing to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity, as well as by the fact that sustainable Common Fishery Policy is envisaged to be adopted in 2013.
Seabirds have been slaughtered resulting from long standing fishing activities. Striving to secure their food birds have become victims of fishermen's nets and hooks. The speed at which many species are disappearing in result of fisheries is much greater than the possibility for these species to regenerate. In this connection, if urgent measures are not undertaken the Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus Mauretanicus) can disappear in the time frame of a human generation.
Today this is a tragedy which can be thoroughly evaded as far as some measures have been already tested which avert the perishing of birds in fishermen's devices. Evidence is existing that scaring away the birds from fishermen's equipments is of use to the fishermen, on one hand, because they would avoid the loss of expensive bait, and on the other hand, because the quantities of fish take would augment. Throughout the world many nations involved in fishing have proved before the European Union the measures which could be taken with a view to avoiding this problem. In this connection some of these countries have decreased the bird death rate in connection with fishermen's devices to almost null.
Support our appeal. Let us send a request to the new European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to undertake serious and urgent actions to save our seabirds and to make the European fisheries more ecology-compliant.
Please, join the petition at: http://www.birdlife.org/eu/EU_policy/Fisheries_Marine/seabird_pledge.html