UK proposes wider ban on destructive bottom trawling
A ban on a "destructive" type of fishing that drags large nets along the seafloor could be extended across English waters, the government has said.The proposal would expand the the prohibition of bottom trawling fishing to a further 30,000 km2 (around 11,500 sq miles) across 41 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The plan is subject to a 12-week industry consultation.The announcement comes as a UN Ocean Conference begins on Monday in France, and amid warnings from Sir David Attenborough that bottom trawling is destroying areas of the seabed and marine life.Environment Secretary Steve Reed said "without urgent action our oceans will be irreversibly destroyed".
Speaking before the summit, Sir David told Prince William he was "appalled" by the fishing method. The naturalist's latest documentary Ocean With David Attenborough showed new footage of a bottom trawling net bulldozing through silt on the seafloor and scooping up species indiscriminately.Last week, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee renewed calls to ban bottom trawling, dredging and mining for aggregates, on the seabed in offshore MPAs.The government says the proposed measures would protect rare marine animals and the delicate seabeds they rely upon. It says it has carried out detailed assessments into the harms caused to habitats and species.A 12-week consultation will run until 1 September and will seek the views of the marine and fishing industry. Ariana Densham, head of oceans at Greenpeace UK, said the consultation was "ultimately a long-overdue completion of a process started by the previous government".The Wildlife Trust said it hoped the extended ban would be put in place "rapidly". It would be a "win-win for both nature and the climate," added the trust's director of policy and public affairs, Joan Edwards. Pressure is also building for more countries to ratify the High Seas Treaty at the Ocean Conference in Nice. The treaty was agreed by 193 countries two years ago to put 30% of the ocean into protected areas. The treaty will not come into force until it is ratified by 60 countries, with the current number standing at 28. The UK is among those countries that has yet to ratify.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
13 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told to abandon 'austerity' welfare cuts in spending review by the SNP
The SNP says Labour must 'abandon plans to impose more austerity cuts' Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The chancellor is being told to 'scrap the Labour Party's devastating cuts to disabled people' in her spending review later this week. The SNP has written to Rachel Reeves ahead of her statement on Wednesday, urging her to 'abandon plans to impose more austerity cuts' and ensure there are no cuts to affordable housing, policing or the Scottish Government's budget. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivers a speech during a visit to Mellor Bus in Rochdale on June 4, 2025, to announce investments in regional transport (Photo: PETER BYRNE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) |Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison also told the chancellor to 'change course' and abandon her self-imposed fiscal rules. Yesterday, UK Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Peter Kyle was asked if he could guarantee there would be no cuts to affordable housing and police officer numbers. In response, Mr Kyle said: 'The whole details of the spending review will come out on Wednesday.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dave Doogan MP, the SNP's economy spokesman, has now written to the chancellor calling on her to 'immediately and fully reverse Labour's austerity cuts to disabled people, pensioners and families, and deliver the investment needed to end child poverty, boost public services and grow the economy - instead of swinging the Westminster austerity axe again'. In his letter he also said the chancellor must 'deliver long-overdue funding for Scottish energy projects - including fully and immediately funding the Acorn Scottish carbon capture project, which has faced years of Westminster delays'. Mr Doogan also said Ms Reeves should match the Scottish Government's plan to scrap the two-child benefit cap and the bedroom tax, and introduce a UK-wide version of the Scottish child payment. 'It's safe to say 2025 has got off to a frantic and varied start. "It is a welcome antidote to get back to the constituency to meet businesses and organisations achieving so much for local people and local economies, in stark contrast to the chaos at Westminster.' He added: 'Instead of choosing more austerity cuts, the Labour government should be choosing to boost economic growth and make fairer choices to help families and properly fund public services. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'At the UK spending review on Wednesday, I urge you to scrap the Labour Party's devastating cuts to disabled people and abandon plans to impose more austerity cuts to public services, including affordable housing and policing, which would hit the most vulnerable and squeeze Scotland's budget.' Over the weekend Mr Kyle said police must 'do their bit' to 'embrace change' as the Home Office and Treasury continue negotiations ahead of the spending review. It is understood Home Office ministers do not believe there is enough cash to recruit the additional police officers Labour promised in its manifesto. He said 'every part of society was struggling' and the chancellor is facing pressure from all sectors - last week Ms Reeves also warned that not every government department will 'get everything they want' and said there were 'good things I've had to say no to'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Peter Kyle | Jonathan Brady/Press Association However Mr Kyle did confirm there would be a boost to spending on schools and scientific research. Over the weekend Ms Robison said the UK and Scottish governments must work together to support shared economic growth and end spending that bypasses devolution. She has called on the chancellor to relax her fiscal rules to enable investment in public services, to fully fund employer National Insurance contribution increases in the Scottish public sector, abandon welfare cuts, and fund the Acorn carbon capture project. Ms Robison said: 'The UK spending review is an opportunity for the UK Government to abandon some of its damaging policies such as cuts to welfare support for disabled people, to scrap the two-child benefit cap and to reinstate a universal winter fuel payment.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She also said she hopes the chancellor will use the spending review to fully fund the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions in the Scottish public sector. Ms Robison added: 'The UK Government should also use the spending review to empower the devolved administrations with more flexible fiscal rules that can enable investment in public services and we need an end to spending that bypasses devolution so we can direct funds to best meet local needs. Finance Secretary Shona Robison presents the Scottish Government's budget at Holyrood | Getty Images 'We called on UK ministers to involve us at an early stage of this process, but since they've refused to provide us with any clarity on their spending priorities it's clear that it's business as usual for Westminster. 'We continue to call on the Treasury to use the spending review to change course, providing the funding we need to deliver for the people of Scotland.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Reeves's spending review on Wednesday will confirm how much taxpayers' money will be spent on public services such as the NHS, and how much money the UK Government will be investing in new projects. The chancellor set out department budgets for 2025/26 back in her autumn statement - this week's spending review will see her confirm the departmental spending allocations for the next three to four years. Government borrowing grew to £20.2 billion in April, which is £1bn higher than the same month in 2024 and more than economists had been expecting. Tax revenues also increased due to increases to employer National Insurance contributions - spending also increased due to increases to pensions and other benefits. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The UK Government has already previewed some of its spending decisions, such as raising defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and cutting the overseas aid budget. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also vowed to reverse the Labour Party's cuts to universal winter fuel payments, but has yet to set out the details on what this will look like.
BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bournemouth MP calls for developed playgrounds to be replaced
An MP is calling for a change in planning laws to ensure that any playgrounds lost to development will be replaced Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, has tabled an amendment to the government's Planning and Infrastructure Bill which has its second and third readings in the Commons this wants a "play sufficiency" duty in England to ensure no-net loss of existing play spaces due to development without equivalent provision by local council planners. The same rules already apply in Wales and Scotland. The MP says the subject is close to his heart: "Over the last decade, we've seen playgrounds boarded up because planning authorities are not required by law to look after playgrounds."My amendment to this bill will require planning authorities to properly invest in playgrounds."Where there is any development, there is no loss of playgrounds in a town or a city."In January Hayes held a debate in parliament on improving public highlighted the situation in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch after the councillor in charge of parks and gardens in the towns told the BBC the authority has been forced to close some play parks "because we haven't the money to keep maintaining them". Parents in Boscombe said that the local playground had deteriorated so badly their children no longer want to play added: "You walk through a town like Bournemouth and you see a playground boarded up, it just fills you with hopelessness."It looks like a blight, children can not learn or develop social skills and they can not improve their mental health through play."We keep telling children to get off their phones and screens, but if we're not providing outdoor play opportunities, we're not sending the right signal"."This is a call on all councils to invest in play opportunities because we've seen over a decade or more nearly 1,000 playgrounds closed across the country." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Met Police funding fears: Warning half of buildings could close
A large section of the ceiling is missing in one of the women's bathrooms at Shoreditch police station. Some of it is now sitting in a crate on the floor."We had a leak from the toilet system on the floor above," explains David Mathieson, the Metropolitan Police's director of real estate development, pointing out how the sewage water has seeped into the carpet next to the lockers."The systems are just so old, we keep patch repairing them, but they need to be ripped out and replaced."He's showing us around the station to illustrate the problems, after Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned the Met faces having to close buildings and lose 1,700 officers and staff due to a £260m budget shortfall. 'Austerity scar tissue' In a report presented to the London Policing Board last month, Sir Mark said that, unless the Met received more money in the government's Spending Review on Wednesday, London could experience "sustained increases" in knife crime, violence against women and girls, and warned this meant the government's key pledges to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls in a decade, and to boost neighbourhood policing, were also at Mark added that the Met would be forced to close up to half of its buildings over the next decade "due to them being no longer habitable or legally compliant".In November, the commissioner warned the Met faced "eye-watering cuts" to services and a £450m funding gap, although he's since acknowledged that extra funding from the Home Office and City Hall means its final settlement is "nearly £100m better" than last week, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that police forces across the country were carrying the "scar tissue of years of austerity cuts" and said they needed more money to meet government ambitions on policing. The government has promised thousands of neighbourhood police officers and nearly 400 police community support officers will be recruited for forces in England and Wales over the next 12 months, as part of the target to hit 13,000 by London has asked repeatedly for an interview with Sir Mark ahead of the Spending Review and has approached the Home Office for comment."You'd normally refurbish a building every 25 years," Mr Mathieson tells me. "Our budget is now once every 125 years."The Met says it's already shrunk from 620 buildings in 2010 down to 260, in order to find money for front-line police station closed to the public in 2017, when London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said government cuts meant he had no choice but to make although the shutters are down, the building is still operational, as a base for the Hackney Safer Neighbourhood team and as a training facility for officers learning to use Tasers. Mr Mathieson takes us on a grim tour, pointing out how the sewage leak has gone right through the building, into the instructors' lockers on the lower floors - now replaced by a red bucket - the missing ceiling panels along the corridor, and the single boiler providing heat and hot water."We should have two but we didn't have the budget," he tells us, adding that the building will have to close completely if the boiler tells me that four defunct boilers - which he thinks date back to the 1960s when the station was built - have been kept so they can "cannibalise them for parts around the other bits of the estates".The upstairs women's bathroom, which was flooded in March, remains out of order, with parts of the ceiling taken down simply to make the building across the corridor, on the back of the locker-room door, is a poster encouraging officers to "take pride in your workplace". In April, the Met detailed a list of savings it would need to make in order to protect front-line services such as neighbourhood policing and public protection teams, which tackle sex offences and domestic plans include scrapping the Royal Parks Police and Safer Schools officers, along with cuts to forensics and mounted police and potentially taking firearms off the Flying commissioner has said he wants the force to grow in size to 38,000 officers and 19,000 civilian staff, but said the Met was expected to have just 31,248 officers and 10,972 staff by the end of the predicts the force will lose about 1,700 officers, PCSOs and staff, but that additional funding may allow the force to reduce the losses by speeding up recruitment. 'It's really cold in the winter' In the face of protecting front-line services, it might make sense that refurbishing buildings is less of a priority, but Mr Mathieson tells me it's clear that it's having a terrible impact on officer morale. "The quality of the space you live and work in is absolutely intrinsic to your sense of self worth... your sense of being valued," he opens another door, revealing a locker room with peeling paint and stained flooring."Imagine this is your first day as a Met officer, and you're being asked to get changed in here." Insp Ryan Rose, who works on Taser training, agrees, telling me that thousands of students pass through the base and often comment on the poor conditions. We watch as some trainees line up in front of us on the indoor target range, and an instructor tells the group to "listen, react, engage," before they fire."One of the core principles of Taser training is we try and instil professionalism in how you handle the weapon," Insp Rose explains, "and we are doing that in a very non-professional environment."It's really cold in the winter, it's really hot in the summer."He says the students are currently having to go to another part of the building to find working toilets, which is disruptive."It slows down the training... leaks on the range and leaks in the toilets... sometimes we need to shut down training." "The perfect thing to do with this building is to completely gut it and start again," says Mr Mathieson. "It needs a complete, thorough refurbishment, but that will probably cost £30m, and that means we can't spend £30m on any of the 259 other buildings in the rest of the estate."I'm always having to judge where are the biggest, most critical problems and put the funding into those." Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that police forces are being given £1 billion extra funding this year, and said other public services were struggling "because of the inheritance that we had as a country and as a government." "We expect the police to start embracing the change they need to do, to do their bit for change as well. We are doing our bit," he said. A spokesperson for the mayor of London said the previous Conservative government had "chronically underfunded the Met"."Sadiq has done everything in his power to support the police and recently announced record £1.16bn investment for the Met to protect neighbourhood policing in our communities, secure 935 front-line police officer posts and significantly reduce the level of cuts the Met had been planning."
