The European Commission announced today the second stage of an infringement procedure against Portugal for failures to prevent accidental captures of dolphins in fishing activities.
According to a press release, the European executive decided today to send Portugal a reasoned opinion “for not applying the measures required under the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC of the Council) to monitor and prevent incidental catches of cetaceans in fishing activities.”
Incidental catches are unintentional captures of undesired species.
The Habitats Directive requires Member States to monitor incidental catches and killings of strictly protected species and ensure that they do not have a significant negative impact on the species concerned.
Member States must also take the appropriate measures to avoid significant disturbances of protected species at Natura 2000 sites.
Portugal did not establish an effective system to control incidental catches of species such as the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), all protected under the Habitats Directive.
According to Brussels, Portugal also did not pursue the investigation nor take conservation measures to ensure that incidental catches and accidental deaths do not have a significant negative impact on the species in question.
Furthermore, Portugal did not take appropriate measures to avoid significant disturbances, due to the risk of incidental catches, on Natura 2000 sites designated for the protection of dolphins.
The Commission opened the process by sending a compliance notification to Portugal in November 2023, but concluded that, despite the adoption of some national measures, Portugal continues to fail to meet the above-mentioned obligations.
Consequently, the Commission decided to issue a reasoned opinion to Portugal, which now has two months to respond and adopt the necessary measures; otherwise, the Commission may initiate proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
