BAY OF BISCAY — More than 1,200 dolphins and porpoises have washed up dead on France’s shores since January — and the crisis is sparking tension between fishermen and environmental activists. In 2017, 846 small cetaceans, of which 90 percent were dolphins, were found on French beaches, according to scientists at the Pelagis Observatory in La Rochelle. The following year, that number declined to fewer than 700. But now the dolphin death count is shooting back up again, already outpacing previous years. VICE News Tonight went to La Rochelle to find out exactly what’s causing so many cetacean deaths on France’s shores. Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com/ Follow VICE News here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicenews Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicenews Tumblr: http://vicenews.tumblr.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicenews More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo