US EditionGovernment Facing Increasing Pressure to Ban Bottom Trawling in Protected Areas
- The UK government is under mounting pressure from MPs and environmental organizations to prohibit bottom trawling within designated marine conservation zones by January 2026.
- This pressure follows criticism that the Marine Policy Statement, last updated in 2011, is outdated and fails to protect marine ecosystems from harmful practices like bottom trawling.
- MPAs in the UK include 178 designated sites, but only three are highly protected, while damaging activities such as dredging, mining, and bottom trawling remain permitted in most areas.
- Legal actions within the EU emphasize that bottom trawling violates the protections set by the EU Habitats Directive, with studies indicating that as much as 60% of vulnerable EU Marine Protected Areas continue to experience this destructive fishing practice.
- The ongoing demands imply that the UK and EU governments must strengthen marine protection policies, expand highly protected areas, and comply with international treaties to secure marine biodiversity.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Evening Standard
perspectivemedia.comGovernment facing increasing pressure to ban bottom trawling in protected areas
Calls to ban the damaging fishing practice in England’s marine protected areas have been intensifying ahead of a major UN ocean conference next week.
In the run-up to the Third United Nations Conference on the Ocean in Nice, the profession boasts its "good management of the fishery resource" in the face of NGOs and their demands for the ban of trawlers.
In his latest work, nature filmmaker David Attenborough shows shocking images of trawls plowing through the sea floor. However, not all researchers support his demand to systematically banish the fishing method from protected areas.
In its Ocean Pact, the European Commission no longer aims for a general ban on bottom-disturbing fishing in protected marine natural areas.
Deep trouble: What is bottom trawling, and how does it impact marine life?
Deep trouble: What is bottom trawling, and how does it impact marine life? Bottom trawling is one of the most widespread methods of fishing used today; some 25% of the world’s fish is caught using this method. It is highly profitable because of the substantial harvests and its low selectivity regarding sizes and species caught. However, there are growing concerns about the overall ecosystem impacts of bottom trawling. It damages the seabed, depl…
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