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There is growing public support for marine protection across Europe as 73 per cent of people support a ban on bottom trawling. French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis are being urged to take action against destructive fishing practices in Europe’s protected marine areas. Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy nets along the seabed.
Previous research has shown that not only does this fishing practice damage marine habitats, it’s also - from both fossil fuel consumption by vessels and by disturbing sediment at the bottom of the sea. A newly launched campaign, Protect Our Catch, sent open letters to the two European politicians on Wednesday urging them to take action. The campaign has been backed by fishermen and hundreds of thousands of citizen activists and is supported by a number of leading ocean advocates including BLOOM, Blue Marine Foundation, Empesca’t, Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, Only One, Seas At Risk, and Tara Ocean Foundation.
President Macron said in 2022 that the world must “set ambitious goals for biodiversity and especially for the ocean”. Yet campaigners argue that France has so far failed to make any “meaningful progress” on banning in its protected areas. It says that this threatens the country’s claim to be a steward of the ocean.
“Today, France is responding to the climate, social and environmental emergency with inaction and deception,” says Claire Nouvian, founder and general director of non-profit BLOOM. “President Macron must rise to the challenge and respond to the challenges we face by creating genuine marine protected areas, free from industrial infrastructure and activities such as trawling, by excluding mega-trawlers from our territorial waters, in order to protect ecosystems and coastal fishers, and by advocating for a treaty and legislation on the non-proliferation of fossil fuels.” The open letter reminds the French President that, as the country prepared to host the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice this June, “the eyes of the world turn to you, not just as the national leader of the world’s second-largest maritime power but as a global champion for the ocean that you could be”.
It urges Macron to ensure strict protections that follow IUCN standards in at least 10 per cent of French waters and to ban practices like bottom trawling in the country’s (MPAs). “By leveraging these mechanisms, France will ensure true protection in its national MPAs and protection for 10 per cent of its waters,” it reads. At the same time, EU leadership in the Parliament and Commission - including Commissioner Kadis - is being urged to double down on the enforcement of existing EU regulations, especially the Habitats Directive, to prevent destructive fishing practices.
“Most European 'Marine Protected Areas' are just lines on a map, paper parks which do nothing to stop the ongoing destruction of vital habitats,” adds Steve Trent, Environmental Justice Foundation CEO and founder. “The laws are clear, and the science is unequivocal. Bottom trawling is incompatible with marine protected areas, and we urgently need action to ban it.
” The open letter to Commissioner Kadis says the EU has proven “time and again” that it can set an example in ocean protection. “Over the past year alone, the EU has galvanised support for a ban on deep-sea mining, led efforts to ratify the High Seas Treaty and championed protection for Antarctica.” It calls for the Commission to enforce the Habitats Directive - legislation that aims to protect over 1,000 species.
The letter says it should ensure marine protected areas are truly protected through the upcoming release of the EU Ocean Pact. It also adds that the EU should ensure a fully implemented Marine Action Plan to phase out bottom trawling with a just transition to low-impact fisheries. The campaign group points out that public support for marine protection is growing across Europe.
Polls show that 90 per cent of people believe protected areas are essential for preserving marine biodiversity, and 73 per cent would support a ban on bottom trawling in marine protected areas. Nearly 80 per cent of the EU’s coastal seabed has now been physically disturbed - primarily because of bottom trawling, according to the European Environment Agency. A quarter of the EU’s coastal area is thought to have lost its natural seabed habitats.
The two open letters add that no immediate action on destructive fishing practices will have devastating consequences not just for the and the fight against climate change but also for small-scale fishermen. "As small-scale fishers, we rely on traditional, low-impact methods that respect the ocean and our culture,” says Isaac Moya, a fisherman in Catalunya and co-founder of sustainable fisheries collective Empesca’t. “However, industrial and bottom trawling in marine protected areas threaten our future.
To ensure the continuity of our profession, it is essential to protect and promote artisanal fishing." Federico Gelmi, a low-impact fisher from Pantelleria, Italy, adds that bottom trawling is “incompatible” with sustainable fishing. “The science is clear, and the fishing tells the same story.
We need to protect our ocean if we are to continue fishing.”.
