Nine of the world’s biggest supertrawlers are scooping fish from the Channel, with a devastating impact on dolphins, conservationists warn.
The monster vessels, equal in length to six-and-a-half double decker buses, drag nets a mile long which can bring in hundreds of tons of fish a day.
The unprecedented hauls are legal as they are 12 miles off the coast.
But environmental campaigners say they are damaging the marine eco-system and species including dolphins and endangered bluefin tuna.
Thea Taylor, co-lead of the Brighton Dolphin Project, said: “These supertrawlers have not only caught masses of their target fish species but tons of marine life that they do not want, including marine mammals.
“These are usually ground down for animal feed or thrown back dead.
“We see a surge in dead dolphins on beaches when the supertrawlers are here, or during the weeks after.”
Last month, a harbour porpoise washed up dead at Selsey, West Sussex, with signs of a net injury to the mouth.
Another stranding occurred at Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex, on Sunday.
More than 5,000 dolphins have washed up dead on our shores in the past seven years, a 15% rise on the previous seven.
Experts say this could be just the tip of the iceberg, as “cetacean bycatch” – when accidentally caught dolphins are thrown back dead or injured – often sink to the bottom of the sea.
There have been two supertrawlers in the channel off Sussex since November 18.
There were four on Friday, seven by Saturday and nine yesterday.
The biggest is the Dutch-owned 7,127-ton Afrika, which is 126m long and 17m wide.
It is fishing near four other similarly sized vessels which have not moved for days.
Nearly 300,000 people have signed a Greenpeace petition calling for a ban on supertrawlers entering UK waters.
Oceans campaigner Chris Thorne said: “Some of the biggest supertrawlers on earth are stalking the Channel right now, including in protected areas.
“These vast, destructive vessels have no place operating in our most important and sensitive marine areas.
“Our Government must use its new post-Brexit powers to ban supertrawlers from UK protected areas and also take a long, hard look at whether supertrawler operations are compatible at all with healthy oceans here.”
Afrika’s owners were last night approached for comment.
