Shocking footage of prawn trawler dumping dead unwanted catch back in sea sparks calls for action

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Shocking video footage showing huge volumes of fish, sea rays and shellfish killed by an indiscriminate prawn trawler has sparked calls for action.The images, captured by snorkelers near the island of Gigha, off the coast of Kintyre, revealed dead, critically endangered flapper skates caught in the nets of the trawler had been dumped overboard.The vessel was likely catching prawns for scampi.

Critics of commercial bottom trawling say it has high levels of unwanted catch, routinely snaring fish, sharks and even seabirds.The footage was obtained by a member of Sea Kintyre, a marine conservation group, who received a tip-off about the dump at Gigha harbour in June.The film - viewed more than 140,000 times online - shows thousands of dead prawns covering the seafloor as well five different species of shark, including mature flapper skate, a species listed internationally as critically endangered.Peter Hume of Sea Kintyre said: “All around the pier there were mountains of discarded skate and langoustines.“This wasteful fishery is undermining other fishing opportunities for the local community and harming the life in our seas."Lauren Smith of Shark and Skate Scotland said: “ Flapper skate are a critically endangered species and to see these animals being caught and killed by bottom-trawling is both heartbreaking and alarming.”Nick Underdown, campaigns head at the charity Open Seas, said: “The environmental impact of bottom-trawling is usually hidden from public view, but this footage shows the grim reality of bottom trawling for scampi.”The incident was reported to Marine Scotland and Police Scotland. Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .