Drift net kills around the world

Around the world, some recent updates on marine life tragically killed by fishing nets.

Over 5,000 turtles killed in Orissa since 2007.
While conservation groups claimed that at least 12,000 turtles were killed from November 2007 till date, the state government put the figure at 5,000. According to Greenpeace, over 4,000 carcasses were found in Devi region alone till February.
from "Over 5,000 turtles killed in Orissa since 2007", Economic Times of India 20 Mar 08; full article on the wildsingapore news blog

22 Maui dolphins in New Zealand.
What is particularly tragic is that there are estimated only 111 of these dolphins left.
from New Zealand under pressure over rare dolphins, Ian Wood, The Telegraph 19 Mar 08; full article on the wildsingapore news blog

Tiny Mexican porpoise near extinct from fish nets.
Called the vaquita, the porpoise numbers to as few as 150 from around 600 at the start of the decade. The drop in numbers suggests they are getting tangled in fishing nets at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Female vaquitas only produce young once every two years and the genetic pool is now too small for effective breeding. Meanwhile mesh gillnets used to catch sea bass, mackerel, shrimp and sharks also trap and drown air-breathing vaquitas, whose name is Spanish for "little cow."
from "Tiny Mexican porpoise near extinct from fish nets," Tomas Sarmiento, Yahoo News 18 Mar 08; full article on the wildsingapore news blog.

Mutilated dolphins are washing up on UK coasts. 29 dolphins and porpoises have been found on the beaches of south-west England since the beginning of the year, compared with 80 for the whole of 2007. Experts suspect that most have drowned after being caught up in fishing nets.
from "Mutilated dolphins washing up on UK coasts", The Telegraph 16 Mar 08; full article on wildsingapore news.

Meanwhile, France forced to stop illegal drift net fishing this year. Also known as "wall of death" nets in the Mediterranean, the French Government was refused a temporary exemption to allow fishermen attempting to catch endangered bluefin tuna and swordfish to go on using drift nets that were prohibited in the EU in 2002. Drift nets more than 1.5 miles long were banned by the UN in international waters in the early 1990s and drift nets of any length in 2002 because of global concerns about the bycatch of dolphins, turtles and sharks.
from "France forced to stop illegal drift net fishing", Charles Clover, The Telegraph 18 Mar 08; full article on wildsingapore news.