Latest news with #bottomtrawling
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
UK MPs call for ban on bottom trawling in protected marine areas
Ministers must ban bottom trawling for fish in marine protected areas, an influential group of MPs has said, because the destructive practice is devastating the seabed and marine life. The UK parliament's environmental audit committee called for a ban to encompass dredging and mining as well as the bottom trawling of fish in the 900,000 sq km covered by nearly 180 marine protected areas. Despite the name, these areas are open for many sorts of fishing, including bottom trawling – the practice of dragging immense and heavy nets across the seabed to scoop up all in their path, most of which is discarded while prized fish such as sole, cod and haddock are kept. 'Bottom trawling and scallop dredging are the most damaging forms of fishing,' said Jonny Hughes, senior policy manager at the Blue Marine Foundation thinktank and charity. 'They devastate the seabed and have amongst the highest rates of bycatch of any fishing method – most of this is simply thrown away. It is absurd and misleading to call any part of the ocean that allows these activities protected.' Campaigners have been calling for years for a ban, but public outcry has intensified since a film by Sir David Attenborough was released last month, to coincide with his 99th birthday. The film, Ocean – which was released in cinemas and will be available on streaming services in June – showed in detail some of the vital habitats raked by the massive nets that in effect plough up the seabed, leaving deep scars where it can take many years for marine life to recover. Toby Perkins, the chair of the Commons committee, said: 'Ministers must ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name. [They] have all the information they need to press ahead with banning bottom trawling in the offshore protected areas where it presents the most risk. Why the delay? Our oceans cannot afford any more prevarication. It is time to act.' The UK will send representatives to a UN oceans conference later this month. Ministers have previously indicated they could take action, and there are protections in place against damaging fishing practices in about 60% of the current marine protected areas but no full ban has yet been brought in. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'Our precious marine animals and habitats have been under threat for too long. This government is committed to protecting and restoring our oceans to good health.'
CBC
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
David Attenborough warns we're losing an undersea rainforest every year
David Attenborough's new documentary Ocean examines the destruction of both sea life and livelihoods through the overuse of bottom trawling that uses gigantic nets that swallow everything in their path, only for up to 75 per cent of the animals caught to be discarded.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Attenborough film shows seabed ‘devastation' says MP in bottom trawling ban call
A Labour MP has pressed ministers to say whether they will ban bottom trawling before climate leaders meet in France next month, after Sir David Attenborough warned the fishing practice was among the most 'wasteful'. Sir David's new film Ocean features detailed footage, thought to be the first of its kind, of bottom trawling along the seabed. The camera follows large nets which are dragged along the ocean floor using a metal beam, with sea creatures indiscriminately caught inside before they are brought to the surface. Rotherham MP Sarah Champion told MPs that 'David Attenborough's latest film Ocean revealed the shocking devastation caused by bottom trawling' and referred to calls from environmental campaigners to 'take action at the UN conference in just four weeks'. At Foreign Office questions, Ms Champion asked: 'Will the Government use the conference to announce a ban on all bottom trawling in marine protected areas? 'And why has the minister still not set out when we will ratify the ocean treaty which will keep our Sids (small island developing states) and overseas territories safe?' Minister Catherine West replied: 'The climate and ocean adaptation sustainable transition (Coast) programme is improving vulnerable coastal communities' resilience to climate change including protecting and restoring coastal habitats, supporting nature-based solutions and improving small-scale fisheries management, and including the issue which she raises – the use of bottom-towed gear over rock and reef habitats in 13 Marine Management Organisation areas.' Greenpeace UK's co-executive director Will McCallum, Oceana UK executive director Hugo Tagholm and Blue Marine Foundation chief executive Clare Brook have previously written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty – also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement – to conserve the high seas and help protect 30% of the world's oceans. They have also called for a full ban on bottom trawling, which they said would help marine ecosystems in UK domestic waters 'recover' from the practice's 'devastating impact'. It comes ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in June, which is being held in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, later told the Commons: 'I know there's a lot going on, but the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty is important. 'It's about our blue planet. It's about our oceans. 'It used to be that we had a leadership position in it. In fact, when we were leading it, 115 countries signed that treaty, but it needs to be ratified as well, and very few countries are ratifying it including Britain. 'And when we ask the Government about it, the Government says it's because they haven't got enough time. Have they dropped the ball? 'Is there a Bill? Are we going to ratify it, and will we ratify it before the UN Ocean Conference?' Ms West replied: 'We will redouble our efforts to get into the legislative queue and do all (that's) necessary to ensure and maintain our leadership on this important area.' In his documentary, Sir David said the bottom trawling net moves along the seabed 'destroying nearly everything in its path', even if it is not wanted on the surface. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' the 99-year-old said.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Attenborough film unveils seabed destruction caused by bottom trawling
Dramatic footage from Sir David Attenborough's landmark new film captures the destruction caused to the seabed by bottom trawling. Ocean With David Attenborough, released in cinemas to mark the renowned naturalist and TV presenter's 99th birthday, includes a sequence where the camera follows a bottom trawl, where nets are dragged with a metal beam across the seabed to catch fish. As the iron chains travel across the ocean floor they can be seen bulldozing through the habitat, stirring up silt which releases carbon and scooping up species indiscriminately. The footage is thought to be the first time the process has been filmed in such high quality, showing the scale of destruction caused by trawling. Sir David can be heard saying that 'very few places are safe' from the damaging fishing method, which occurs daily across vast swathes of the world's seabeds. In the cilp, he also highlights how trawlers, often on the hunt for a single species, discard almost everything they catch. 'It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,' he notes. Bottom trawling and other forms of destructive fishing are permitted in UK waters but conservationists have long been campaigning for a full ban across all marine protected areas. The impacts of bottom trawling and dredging are largely hidden from public view and are carried out without the knowledge of what marine life is being destroyed. Ocean looks to spotlight how human actions are leading to ecosystem collapse. The film also seeks to highlight the need to protect nearly a third of the oceans so they can recover from overfishing and habitat destruction, secure food for billions of people and tackle climate change. Beyond the destruction seen from bottom trawling and coral bleaching, Sir David also highlights inspiring stories from around the world, delivering the message that taking collective action will provide the opportunity for marine life to recover. 'If we save the sea, we save our world,' he says. Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield, who directed the film, said: 'Collaborating with David Attenborough to deliver this powerful message is a dream come true for us as filmmakers and storytellers. 'We hope that sharing this unprecedented look at bottom trawling will bring greater awareness to the reality of what's happening beneath the waves and inspire audiences to protect the world around us.' Enric Sala, National Geographic Pristine Seas founder and executive producer of the film, said: 'I couldn't think of a more crucial time for this film to be available to a global audience. 'For the first time, people can see the destruction of bottom trawling unfold in front of their eyes — the heavy nets dragging across the ocean's precious floor and killing everything in their wake. 'I hope the film makes people all over the world fall in love with the ocean and inspires them to protect it.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Remarkable new clip from Ocean with David Attenborough
Never-before-seen footage shows bottom trawling's devastating effects in the new documentary 'Ocean with David Attenborough'. Source: Ocean with David Attenborough From the surface, you would have no idea that this is happening. It has remained hidden from view. Until Now A modern industrial bottom trawler scours the ocean floor with a chain or metal beam, forcing anything it disturbs into the net behind. It smashes its way across the sea bed. Destroying nearly everything in its paths. Often on the hunt for just a single species. Almost everything else is discarded. Over 3/4 of a trawler's catch. may be thrown away. It's hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish.
