By-catch is the primary global conservation threat to populations of dolphins and porpoises. Despite protection for these protected species under its Habitats Directive, the European Union (EU) has failed to adequately assess and, where necessary, mitigate the by-catch of small cetaceans. Management authority is diffuse, and the EU has no over-arching, quantitative conservation objectives. To address this, we recommend that the EU adopt a comprehensive plan to conserve dolphins and porpoises in European waters. This plan should include regular formal assessments of small cetacean populations, including establishment of quantitative management objectives, generation of estimates of abundance and by-catch mortality, and agreement on biological reference points that will guide management actions to ensure that by-catch does not exceed sustainable levels.

中文翻译：

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空洞的承诺：欧盟未能保护海豚和鼠海豚免受渔业误捕

副渔获物是海豚和鼠海豚种群面临的主要全球保护威胁。尽管根据其栖息地指令对这些受保护物种进行了保护，但欧盟 (EU) 未能充分评估并在必要时减轻小型鲸类的副渔获物。管理权力是分散的，欧盟没有总体的、量化的保护目标。为了解决这个问题，我们建议欧盟通过一项综合计划来保护欧洲水域的海豚和鼠海豚。该计划应包括对小型鲸类种群的定期正式评估，包括建立定量管理目标，生成丰度和副渔获物死亡率的估计值，