AN animal welfare group has warned fishermen to be vigilant after the death of a porpoise off the Lln Peninsula. On July 9, RSPCA inspector Phil Lewis received a call about a porpoise stranded in shallow waters at Nefyn. On attending the site, Mr Lewis and animal collection officer Will Galvin found the animal had died. The body of the adult female porpoise was sent for a post-mortem, which revealed it had drowned after being tangled in fishing nets. As a result RSPCA officers are reminding fishermen to be wary of marine wildlife, and reminding them of the importance of using "pingers" on their nets. Last May, the society, in conjunction with government department DEFRA and the Sea Fishing Authority, released a film as guidance to avoid such cases. Pingers are small acoustic devices which emit a warning sound to deter mammals from swimming close to fishing nets. EU regulations also require fishermen to take such precautions. Phil Lewis said: "Pingers are still relatively new on the market and information about them is not readily available. I appeal to the fishermen to find out about pingers and to start using them. "Dolphins and porpoises are such magnificent creatures and to see one floating dead in the water is avoidable and very sad." A video about pingers is available from DEFRA and the RSPCA. | 
