The European Commission has submitted proposals to ban drift nets on vessels fishing in European Union waters. The aim is to protect the lives of dolphins, turtles and other marine creatures killed as a by product of this hugely indiscriminate method of fishing.

These drift nets, stretching for miles and known by conservationists as “walls of death” are responsible for the agonising deaths of thousands of animals which are of no commercial value to man but are of immeasurable importance to the ecosystems of our oceans.

This blog has been a consistent critic of the EU and much of what  it stands for but credit must be given where credit is due. These proposals are certainly a step in the right direction and should be applauded as such.

However, those who rule us must never be allowed to forget that further steps are still required (not least the whole scale reform of the fishing quota system) if we are to safeguard the future of our oceans and the animals within them.