UK unveils ‘golden opportunity' for wider ban on bottom trawling

Euronews

7 hours ago

Conservationists 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.
'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.
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."
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.
World leaders are gathering in the French city of Nice on Monday for the United Nations Ocean Conference.
It comes as just 2.7 per cent of the world's oceans are effectively protected from extractive activities, according to the non-profit Marine Conservation Institute. This is far short of the target agreed by nearly 200 countries in 2022 to protect 30 per cent of the the world's oceans by 2030.
With increasing threats from climate change, overuse of marine resources and pollution, leading marine experts are calling on governments to use this opportunity to protect fragile underwater ecosystems. Without a healthy ocean, they warn, wider climate goals will remain out of reach.
Taking place from 9 to 13 June, it is the largest ocean summit ever organised and could provide a vital chance for key agreements to be finalised, promises to be delivered upon, and new pledges to be made.
Co-chaired by France and Costa Rica, the conference aims to confront the deepening global ocean emergency. Scientists warn that climate change, plastic pollution, the loss of ecosystems and the overuse of marine resources are all pushing our oceans to the point of no return.
In an effort to spark collaboration and subsequent solutions to some of these problems, UNOC is bringing together world leaders, scientists, activists and businesses.
Specifically, it focuses on the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. The overarching theme of this particular conference is 'accelerating action and mobilising all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean'.
This is the third UN Ocean Conference, and over 10,000 people will be in attendance. It is set to welcome leaders like Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula and France's President Emmanuel Macron will be in the spotlight.
The week-long talks will end with the adoption of a political declaration. While this won't be legally binding, it sets the tone for future global ambition, serving as a signal to governments, investors and civil society and hopefully motivating support for new initiatives.
UNOC identifies three key priorities for the declaration: defending ocean ecosystems, sustainable ocean economies and accelerating actions.
A successful conference would result in a final and signed political declaration which would be called the Nice Ocean Action Plan.
More ratifications of the landmark UN High Seas Treaty are also expected as efforts intensify to ensure its implementation.
A strong outcome could also help lay the groundwork for more biodiversity and climate wins at COP30 in Brazil later this year.
France is co-hosting the conference with Costa Rica, and it is being held in Nice on the country's Mediterranean coast.
Ahead of the summit, President Macron and the French government have been encouraging countries to improve ocean protection.
And on Sunday, Macron called on nations to commit to a mortorium on deep-sea exploration.
"I want us to reach an agreement for the entire planet. Because it's completely crazy. It's completely crazy to go and exploit, to go and drill in a place we don't know. It's frenzied madness," he said.
Macron said around 30 heads of state and government have committed to a moratorium on deep-sea exploitation.
'We've…had the leadership from the French government engaging with countries to increase the ratification for the BBNJ (UN High Seas Treaty),' says Rita El Zaghloul, director of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.
In late May, the European Union and six of its member states formally ratified the High Seas Treaty after France and Spain did so earlier this year. It is hoped that this international agreement will garner enough ratifications before the end of the summit to enter into force as international law.
France has been actively leading efforts to engage with countries on ocean protection, El Zaghloul adds, to ensure that the conference ends with some concrete results.
Earlier this year, Chile and France announced the '100 per cent Alliance', urging coastal and ocean states to commit to 100 per cent sustainable management of their national ocean areas.
But Enric Sala, National Geographic explorer in residence and founder of Pristine Seas, emphasises that France has to be a 'leader in actions, not just words'.
'France is the co-chair of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, committing to at least 30 per cent of the ocean protected by 2030,' he explains, 'and in France…there are all these protected areas, but most of these protected areas are open to commercial fishing, including bottom trawling.'
France, the conference co-host, claims to have surpassed the 30 per cent target for marine protection. But environmental groups say only 3 per cent of French waters are fully protected from harmful activities like bottom trawling and industrial fishing.
In 2024 alone, more than 100 bottom-trawling vessels were recorded spending over 17,000 hours fishing within France's six marine nature parks, according to ocean advocacy group Oceana.
Sala says just 1 per cent of French waters are no-take areas that actually allow marine life to recover. These areas also bring huge benefits for tourism, jobs and local, small-scale fishermen.
'Everybody expects President Macron to make some announcements of designation of new marine protected areas that are truly protected. Also, there is a great expectation for President Macron to make some commitment about phasing out bottom trawling in marine protected areas.'
That criticism is echoed across the continent. A new World Wildlife Fund report found that although more than 11 per cent of Europe's marine area is designated for protection, just 2 per cent of EU waters have management plans in place.
The pledges made both at the conference and before will mean nothing, however, without the funds to back them up. And global marine protection efforts are already critically underfunded.
In 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to designate 30 per cent of the world's oceans as protected areas by 2030.
As of 2024, just 8.4 per cent were covered, and only 2.7 per cent have been assessed to be effectively protected - meaning there are regulations and active management in place to ensure minimal or no damaging activities. That latter figure has dropped earlier this year as a result of the Trump Administration's rollback of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
Just two countries - Palau and the United Kingdom - have effectively protected more than 30 per cent of their waters, although effectively protected areas in UK waters are overwhelmingly located in remote, overseas territories.
Around $15.8 billion (€13.8 billion) a year is needed to achieve the 30 per cent by 2030 target, but a new report by a global coalition of nature NGOs and funders has found that just $1.2 billion (€1.05 billion) is currently being spent.
That is a massive funding gap of $14.6 billion (€12.7 billion) - a figure the environmental groups point out is just 0.5 per cent of annual global defence budgets.
Brian O'Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, which led on the finance gap analysis, says protecting the ocean is 'no longer just an ecological imperative - it's an economic one.'
'For just $15.8 billion (€13.8 billion) a year, we can protect one of our planet's most valuable assets while avoiding costs and unlocking long-term returns in the tens of billions.'
The report's authors say it sends a clear message ahead of UNOC: governments can't afford to underinvest in ocean protection. And the conference is a critical opportunity to build momentum, ratify key international agreements and recognise the value of the ocean.