UK announces plans to extend seabed trawling ban
The measures would support species such as lobster, clams, soft corals and langoustines. (Envato Elements pic)
LONDON : The UK outlined plans today to extend its ban on 'destructive' seabed trawling to more than half of protected English seas, launching a consultation involving marine and fisheries stakeholders.
Under the plans, which environment minister Steve Reed was due to announce at the UN Ocean Conference in France later today, bottom trawling will be banned in another 30,000 square kilometres of English seas in marine protected areas (MPAs).
There are currently 181 MPAs covering 93,000km squared, or 40% of English waters.
Around 18,000km squared of those waters are currently protected from harmful fishing activity, but that would rise to 48,000km squared under the government's plans.
Bottom trawling, in which heavy nets dragged by chains are pulled along the seabed, 'is damaging our precious marine wildlife and habitats', Reed said in a government press release.
'Without urgent action, our oceans will be irreversibly destroyed – depriving us, and generations to come, of the sea life… which we all enjoy.'
'The government is taking decisive action to ban destructive bottom trawling where appropriate,' he added.
World leaders started gathering on the French Riviera yesterday ahead of the high-level summit to tackle a deepening crisis in the oceans driven by overfishing, climate change and pollution.
The United Nations says oceans face an 'emergency' and the leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit money and stronger protections for the seas and the people that depend on them.
The UK says its bottom trawling plans would help protect rare marine animals and the delicate seabeds on which they rely.
The British consultation will invite marine and fisheries stakeholders to share their views and will run from Monday until September 1.
The measures would affect marine habitats ranging from subtidal sandbanks to gravels to muds, and support species such as lobster, clams, soft corals and langoustines.
'For too long damaging activities have been allowed to continue within many of our MPAs which are supposed to protect the seabed,' said Joan Edwards from the Wildlife Trusts, a federation of charities.
They 'have been campaigning for a long time for better management of our MPAs and therefore welcome the news today of a consultation to ban bottom-towed trawling in over 40 offshore sites', she added.
Elsewhere at the UN conference, the UK was set to pledge a further £4 million to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, bringing the country's total contribution to the fund up to £40 million.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
10 hours ago
- Malay Mail
World leaders unite against Trump's seabed mining push, warn of turning ocean floor into ‘wild west'
NICE, France, June 11 — World leaders on Monday called for strict rules to govern deep-sea mining and warned against racing to exploit the ocean floor in a thinly veiled rebuke of US President Donald Trump. Growing anxiety over Trump's unilateral push to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters shot to the surface at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in southern France. 'I think it's madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks — when we know nothing about it,' said French President Emmanuel Macron. Imposing a moratorium on seabed mining was 'an international necessity', said Macron. The number of countries opposed to seabed mining rose to 36 on Monday, according to a tally kept by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations. Trump was not among the roughly 60 heads of state and government in the seaside town of Nice but his spectre loomed large as leaders defended the global multilateralism he has spurned. Of particular concern is his move to sidestep the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and issue permits directly to companies wanting to extract nickel and other metals from waters beyond US jurisdiction. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for 'clear action' from the seabed authority to end a 'predatory race' for deep-ocean minerals. 'We now see the threat of unilateralism looming over the ocean. We cannot allow what happened to international trade to happen to the sea,' he said. The deep sea, Greenland and Antarctica were 'not for sale', Macron said in further remarks directed clearly at Trump's expansionist claims. The ISA, which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor outside national waters, is meeting in July to discuss a global mining code to regulate mining in the ocean depths. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he supported these negotiations and urged caution as countries navigate these 'new waters on seabed mining'. 'The deep sea cannot become the wild west,' he said, to applause from the plenary floor. 'Wave of hope' Island nations also spoke out against seabed mining, which scientists warn could result in untold damage to ecosystems largely unexplored by humanity. 'Here in Nice, we can feel that the looming threat of deep-sea mining, and the recent reckless behaviour of the industry is seen by many states as unacceptable,' said Megan Randles from Greenpeace. Meanwhile, a flurry of last-minute signatures in Nice brought a treaty to protect 60 per cent of the world's oceans outside national jurisdiction closer to law. Macron told reporters that 55 nations had ratified the high seas treaty, just five shy of the number required for its enactment. The president gave two thumbs up and a broad grin as he posed with the new signatories, and said the accord would come into force by January 1, 2026. According to the UN, 18 new ratifications took place on Monday, bringing the total to 50. Others could arrive in the coming days. 'Today's surge of ratifications for the High Seas Treaty is a tidal wave of hope and a huge cause for celebration,' Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, told AFP. 'Prove you're serious' On Monday, the United Kingdom announced plans to extend a partial ban on bottom trawling in some of its protected marine areas, following a similar move by France at the weekend. Greece, Brazil and Spain took the opportunity Monday to announce the creation of new marine parks, following recent similar action from Samoa. And French Polynesia unveiled what will be the world's largest marine protected zone, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Just eight per cent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 per cent coverage by 2030. Macron said he hoped that coverage would grow to 12 per cent by the summit's close on Friday. Environment groups say that for marine parks to be considered truly protected they need to ban trawling and other harmful activities and be properly funded. Wealthy nations face pressure in Nice to commit money to make that level of ocean conservation a reality. Small island states are leading the charge for money and political support to better combat rising seas, marine trash and the plunder of fish stocks that hurt their economies. 'We say to you, if you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it,' said President Surangel Whipps Jr of Palau, a low-lying Pacific nation. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
13 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Israel commits ‘extermination' in Gaza by killing in schools, say UN experts
Israel has ruined over 90% of the school and university buildings in Gaza. (AP pic) VIENNA : UN experts said in a report on today that Israel committed the crime against humanity of 'extermination' by killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites in Gaza, part of a 'concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life'. The United Nations independent international commission of inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel was due to present the report to Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council on June 17. 'We are seeing more and more indications that Israel is carrying out a concerted campaign to obliterate Palestinian life in Gaza,' former UN high commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who chairs the commission, said in a statement. 'Israel's targeting of the educational, cultural and religious life of the Palestinian people will harm the present generations and generations to come, hindering their right to self-determination,' she added. The commission examined attacks on educational facilities and religious and cultural sites to assess if international law was breached. Israel disengaged from the Human Rights Council in February, alleging it was biased. When the commission's last report in March found Israel carried out 'genocidal acts' against Palestinians by systematically destroying women's healthcare facilities during the conflict in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the findings were biased and antisemitic. In its latest report, the commission said Israel had destroyed more than 90% of the school and university buildings and more than half of all religious and cultural sites in Gaza. 'Israeli forces committed war crimes, including directing attacks against civilians and wilful killing, in their attacks on educational facilities … In killing civilians sheltering in schools and religious sites, Israeli security forces committed the crime against humanity of extermination,' it said. The war was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in a surprise attack in October 2023, and took 251 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Harm done to the Palestinian education system was not confined to Gaza, the report found, citing increased Israeli military operations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as harassment of students and settler attacks there. 'Israeli authorities have also targeted Israeli and Palestinian educational personnel and students inside Israel who expressed concern or solidarity with the civilian population in Gaza, resulting in their harassment, dismissal or suspension and in some cases humiliating arrests and detention,' it said. 'Israeli authorities have particularly targeted female educators and students, intending to deter women and girls from activism in public places,' the commission added.
The Star
15 hours ago
- The Star
UN envoy to Myanmar warns that violence puts country on 'path to self-destruction'
UNITED NATIONS: Myanmar is on "a path to self-destruction' if violence in the conflict-wracked South-East Asian nation doesn't end, the UN envoy warned on Tuesday (June 10). Julie Bishop (pic) told the UN General Assembly that "alarmingly' the violence didn't end after a powerful earthquake in late March devastated parts of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the country's second-largest city, Mandalay, killing more than 3,000 people and injuring thousands more. Ceasefires announced by some parties have largely not been observed, "embedding a crisis within a crisis,' and people in Myanmar must now deal with the raging conflict and the earthquake's devastation, said Bishop, a former foreign minister of Australia. "A zero-sum approach persists on all sides,' she said. "Armed clashes remain a barrier to meeting humanitarian needs. The flow of weapons into the country is fuelling the expectations that a military solution is possible.' A widespread armed struggle against military rule in Myanmar began in February 2021 after generals seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 6,600 civilians are estimated to have been killed by security forces, according to figures compiled by nongovernmental organisations. The military takeover triggered intensified fighting with long-established armed militias organised by Myanmar's ethnic minority groups in its border regions, which have struggled for decades for more autonomy. It also led to the formation of pro-democracy militias that support a national unity government established by elected lawmakers barred from taking their seats after the army takeover. More than 22,000 political prisoners are still in detention, Bishop said, including Suu Kyi, who turns 80 on June 19, and the ousted president, Win Myint. The UN envoy said she detected "some openness to political dialogue with some regional support, but there is not yet broader agreement on how to move forward.' In meetings with the country's leaders, Bishop said she encouraged them to reconsider their strategy, which has left the country more divided. She also warned against elections, planned for December or January, saying they risk fuelling greater resistance and instability unless there is an end to the violence and they can be held in an inclusive and transparent way. Bishop said she has been coordinating further action with Tan Sri Othman Hashim, the special envoy for Myanmar from Asean, and they agreed to visit Myanmar together. The UN envoy said she had a meeting online on Monday with representatives of the Rohingya minority from Myanmar and Bangladesh. She said the situation for the Rohingya in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state remains dire, with up to 80 per cent of civilians living in poverty and caught in crossfire between the government's military forces and the Arakan Army, the well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority, and "subject to forced recruitment and other abuses.' More than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar starting in late August 2017 when Myanmar's military launched a "clearance operation.' Members of the ethnic group face discrimination and are denied citizenship and other rights in the Buddhist-majority nation. Bishop said there's hope that a high-level conference on the Rohingya and other minorities called for by the UN General Assembly on Sept. 30 will put a spotlight on the urgency of finding "durable solutions' to their plight. - AP
