Government facing increasing pressure to ban bottom trawling in protected areas

Western Telegraph

2 days ago

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) said the fishing technique, which involves dragging heavy fishing nets across the seabed, as well as dredging and mining should be banned in offshore marine protected areas (MPAs).
Campaigners have long been calling for an end to such activities that are still permitted in the UK's 178 MPAs.
But these calls have been intensifying ahead of a major UN ocean conference that kicks off in Nice, France, next week.
The issue recently came to attention after dramatic footage from Sir David Attenborough's new film on oceans captured the heavy metal chains of a bottom trawl net bulldozing through silt on the seafloor and scooping up species indiscriminately.
Ministers must ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name Toby Perkins, EAC chairman
In a report, published on Thursday, the EAC warned that the Government's 'failure to effectively manage gaps in the network of marine protected areas' is allowing these damaging activities to take place.
Water minister Emma Hardy recently told the committee that the Government was 'committed to not having bottom trawling in areas that damage the MPAs, especially when they are attached to features that we are trying to protect'.
But the EAC report highlighted that the Government has not set out a timeline for taking further action to protect the protected areas from the practice.
It also raised concerns about the UK's marine policy statement, which guides planning decisions for the country's seas and was last published in 2011 followed by an update after Brexit.
The MPs described it as 'outdated, not fit for purpose and no longer reflects Government policy or pressures on the marine environment'.
Elsewhere, the committee criticised the UK's failure to ratify the UN ocean treaty – which aims to establish protected areas in international waters – or at least publish a timeline to introduce the required legislation to do so.
In light of this, the group of MPs said they are 'concerned' that the protection of the ocean is not demonstrably a priority for the Government and urged the Government to ratify the treaty no later than this September.
The UK's marine policy statement guides planning decisions for the country's seas (Alamy/PA)
The treaty will not come into force until ratification by 60 countries, with the current number standing at 28.
Toby Perkins, EAC chairman, said: 'UK waters are teeming with complex ecosystems that are not only precious in their own right but also critical to sustaining the delicate balance of marine life.
'Ministers must ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name.'
In its report, the EAC urged the Government to press ahead with banning bottom trawling in offshore protected areas where it presents the most risk, update the UK's marine policy statement and set out a timeline for ratifying the UN treaty.
Damaging and extractive activities are completely banned only in 'highly protected marine areas' – of which the UK has just three, compared with the 178 MPAs, which cover 51% of inshore and 37% of offshore waters.
The committee recommended the Government expand this network to 10% of UK waters by 2030 to meet its biodiversity targets, based on evidence of their effectiveness in marine nature recovery.
It also called for a plan to designate more HMPAs to be published by January 2026.
The PA news agency has contacted the Environment Department (Defra) for comment.