According to the Fisheries Organization, the cause of the incident was a torn trawl.
Dutch owned The FV Margiris fishing vessel dumped more than 100,000 dead fish off the coast of France on Thursday, according to Reuters.
Published by the PFA opinion according to which the fish had to be landed due to a rupture in the vessel’s trawl. According to the PFA, this is a very rare occurrence.
Flying under the Lithuanian flag, the FV Margiris is the second largest fishing vessel in the world. It has a length of about 140 meters.
The fish were found in the Bay of Biscay, between the French and Spanish, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Dead the fish formed a large floating raft at sea, which was not overlooked by environmental organizations.
The activist group Sea Shepherd published pictures and a video of the case, which can be viewed at the beginning of this article.
Sea Shepherd is an environmental organization founded in 1977, especially known for combating whaling.
Sea Shepherd says it doesn’t believe fishermen explain the torn trawl. The group believes it was a deliberate attempt by the vessel to throw into the sea fish that came with a larger catch that it did not want to deal with.
The dead fish were mainly blue whiting, which is used to make fish sticks and fish oil, for example.
The landing of unwanted catches is prohibited under EU fishing rules.
French Minister of Maritime Affairs Annick Girardi described the published images of dead fish as “shocking”. Girardi said he had asked the French fisheries authorities to open an investigation into the accident.
Large fishing vessels like Margiris use trawls over a kilometer long. Catches are also being processed on board.
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