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ADVERTISEMENTConservationists are celebrating a proposal from the UK government to ban bottom trawling in dozens more marine protected areas (MPAs).
MPAs are sections of the ocean that a country aims to protect because they are of particular ecological importance. Bottom trawling – a destructive type of fishing that drags weighted nets across the seafloor – is allowed in many of these sensitive areas.
Currently, only four of the UK’s 377 MPAs are fully protected from bottom-towed fishing gear – an area covering 18,000 square kilometres. A new proposal announced at the start of the third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) in Nice would see an additional 30,000km2 protected, with the ban extended to 41 MPAs. Size wise, that’s roughly half of English MPAs.
“Bottom trawling is damaging our precious marine wildlife and habitats. Without urgent action, our oceans will be irreversibly destroyed – depriving us, and generations to come, of the sea life on which we all enjoy,” Environment Secretary Steve Reed said in a statement this morning.
“The government is taking decisive action to ban destructive bottom trawling where appropriate.”
Its first step is a consultation, launching today (9 June) until 1 September, which will invite marine and fisheries stakeholders to share their views and give evidence about the proposed ban.
If adopted, the measures would protect marine habitats ranging from subtidal sandbanks to gravels to muds, and support important marine species such as lobster, clams, soft corals and langoustines, the government says.
Blue NGOs welcome plans, but say protections must go beyond paper to reality
“Destructive bottom trawling has no place in marine protected areas. These proposals provide a golden opportunity to safeguard these vital marine sanctuaries from the most damaging fishing practices,” says Hugo Tagholm, Executive Director of the ocean advocacy group Oceana UK.
“If these whole-site bans are fully implemented, this could provide an invaluable and urgently needed lifeline for England’s seas, which are so crucial for wildlife and climate resilience.”
Joan Edwards, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts, also emphasises that properly protecting MPAs is “a win-win for both nature and the climate.”
“Removing this pressure is a great step forward towards protecting not only the wildlife and fish stocks within those sites, but also the carbon stored in the seabed muds beneath,” she says.
Still, conservationists are anxious to ensure promising words are backed by action, even after the spotlight of UNOC3 has dimmed.
“The government should now strengthen the ban to cover all parts of our marine protected areas, and other types of destructive industrial fishing like supertrawlers and fly-shooters. Only this will ensure our marine ecosystems are protected in reality – not only on paper,” comments Ariana Densham, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK.
Stephen Fry and Theo James star in film exposing horrors of bottom trawling
Clare Brook, CEO of Blue Marine Foundation, calls the announcement “highly encouraging and very welcome. If delivered (and remember this is a consultation) it will mean that England’s offshore MPAs are at last given the protection they claim.”
The ocean conservation charity is making waves with the release of its satirical short film featuring Stephen Fry and White Lotus star Theo James. The Bottom Line takes place in a fine dining restaurant, where James’s character is presented with the gruesome bycatch behind his “sustainable” hake order.
“As a keen diver, I’ve long been captivated by the ocean and been horrified by the impact humans are having on it. Having had a load of bycatch dumped on me, it really drove home just how grotesque and devastating the practice of bottom trawling is,” said James, who is an ambassador for the charity alongside Fry.
«Conservation policy is awash with shiny new announcements and impressive sounding targets whereas what is needed is actual delivery,” Jonny Hughes, Senior Policy Manager at Blue Marine Foundation, said of today’s news.
‘This, at first glance, seems to be about delivering conservation. We need to see the full details but initial reading is positive.»
Where do other European countries stand on bottom trawling?
France’s stance on bottom trawling is also under review. The co-host of UNOC has announced strict protection measures for 4 per cent of its mainland waters (15,000 square kilometres), banning harmful human activities including bottom trawling.
But the announcement falls short of implementing a comprehensive ban on bottom trawling across all MPAs, environmental lawyers note.
“This is an important turning point,” ClientEarth CEO Laura Clarke said of the UK and French updates. “We welcome these pledges at UNOC – and we would like to see more of them. We also need to see these bans effectively enforced.”
Last year, Greece became the first European country to announce a ban on bottom trawling in its protected areas, starting with its three national marine parks by 2026. Sweden has gone a step further by promising to ban the damaging practice in all its territorial waters as of next month.
The EU’s 2023 Marie Action Plan calls on member states to phase out bottom trawling in all MPAs by 2030. But recent research from NGOs Oceana, Seas At Risk and ClientEarth revealed that no EU country currently has a comprehensive plan in place to phase out destructive fishing practices in these protected areas.
As momentum builds, environmental organisations are pressuring all European countries to follow suit. ClientEarth, Oceana, Danish NGO Danmarks Naturfredningsforening and the Seas at Risk coalition last week threatened legal action against Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain for allowing widespread bottom trawling in its MPAs.
