The European Commission recently opened an infringement procedure (legal action) against Portugal for failing to adopt measures to prevent the bycatch of dolphin species by fishing vessels. The Portuguese authorities now have until mid-January 2024 to respond adequately to the issues raised in the letter of formal notice. If this is not the case, the European Commission may decide to send a formal request to comply with EU law due to Portugal not yet establishing a system to monitor the bycatch and death of protected species such as the common dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin and the porpoise in the waters of its jurisdiction, species strictly protected under the Habitats Directive.
Annually, hundreds of cetaceans are injured or killed during fishing operations on the Portuguese coast and globally over 300,000 dolphins, whales, and porpoises die each year after becoming entangled in active and ghost fishing gear.
