Environment - Illegal drift netting must be stopped

Finding the dead 15-foot basking shark washed up in a monofilament drift net on Fermoyle beach, near Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, on Sunday, is disturbing because it gives rise to suspicion that some fishermen may still be drift-netting for salmon, even though the practice was outlawed in November 2006.

Jerome Dowling, a member of the National Salmon Commission and one of those who came upon the carcase of the basking shark, is sure that it was an active, salmon drift net. But the South Western Regional Fisheries Board contends that it is by no means certain that the 60ft net was being used to fish for salmon.

The authorities differ between themselves about whether the net was just drifting at sea since last year. One spokesman thinks that extremely unlikely, while the other argues that monofilament nets are used for tuna fishing as well as fishing near the sea floor, and that there are a large number of abandoned nets at sea “ghost” fishing and not checked by fishermen.

Basking sharks, which are frequently twice as big as the one washed up on Sunday, are harmless to humans. They feed on plankton and plant life.

Drift netting was outlawed because it indiscriminately kills many forms of wildlife, including birds that dive for fish. This highlights the importance of recovering and properly disposing of the drift nets.

Under the hardship compensation scheme, the fishermen must hand up their nets before they received payment.

This scheme was designed to help protect the environment, which involves much more than just the carbon footprint. It is fitting that following a weekend of Live Earth concerts dedicated to global warming awareness that we should also be conscious of the need to protect and enhance the overall ecological balance.