In the last week alone, six dead common dolphins have been reported to Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network.

Joana Doyle, Marine Conservation Officer for the Trust said: "This problem has not gone away and is as important as ever. Through the pioneering work of the volunteers we have discovered that as well as pair trawling, other fisheries; gill/tangle nets are also responsible for accidental bycatch of dolphins and harbour porpoises off Cornwall."

The Trust's Marine Strandings Network is working to try to prevent these deaths. The trained volunteers photograph and record in detail all stranded marine animals in Cornwall, including any external injuries that may indicate how the animal died. This information is then used locally, nationally and internationally to lobby Government departments responsible for the marine environment to take action to protect these animals.

Caroline Curtis records and photographs the bodies. She said: "Each one is a tragedy that makes me sad and angry. Some are crushed to death in nets full of fish or, being air-breathing mammals like you and me, suffocate as they cannot come to the surface to breathe. Many have broken jaws where they were trapped in fishing trawls. Often their heads, tails or fins have been cut off or their stomachs have been slit open. It's a real shock to imagine these once graceful and playful creatures are suffering in this horrendous way. We simply cannot justify treating them as a waste product of our appetite for fish. We can not and must not let it go on."

Anyone finding a dead marine animal is asked to call the Trust's 24 hour Marine Strandings Hotline 0845 201 2626.