BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive on Wednesday proposed to ban all use of driftnets in EU waters and on its vessels by year’s end to better enforce the protection of dolphins, sharks, swordfish and bluefin tuna.

Driftnets stretching for miles close to the surface have often been responsible for the incidental capture and killing of thousands of marine animals that are important to the ecosystem. They were also responsible for indiscriminate fishing that often resulted in huge by-caches with little commercial value.