According to recent satellite data analysis, ships engaged in bottom trawling, a destructive fishing technique, were present in British marine protected zones for over 33,000 hours in the previous year.
According to the conservation group Oceana UK, ten ships mostly from the EU accounted for 25% of the activity in protected offshore areas.
Bottom trawling is a method that entails pulling metal equipment and weighty nets across the ocean floor. This technique often captures a significant amount of unintended marine species and can harm biodiversity.
According to the study, the top two sites that are frequently searched are located near Cornwall’s coastline. One of these is the Western Channel marine reserve, situated off the Lizard peninsula. This reserve is made up of sandy underwater hills that are home to angler fish and small-spotted catsharks.
The South West Deeps (East), located 150 miles from the coast of Land’s End, is home to cuckoo rays and a variety of marine life including seals and whales. It has been identified as one of the top five offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) for its ability to store carbon, as reported by the Marine Conservation Society.
The organization calculates that the South West Deeps location has the capacity to trap 1.7 million tonnes of carbon, which is equal to 1 million round-trip flights from London to Sydney. However, bottom trawling can release this damaging carbon back into the air.
Although it is known to cause damage, this practice is permitted in nearly all of the UK’s MPAs, which are designated as protected areas for the purpose of preserving rare, endangered, or significant ocean habitats and species, in order to maintain the health of marine environments.
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Hugo Tagholm, Oceana UK’s executive director, stated that the purpose of industrial fishing is to maximize the killing of marine life.
“Everything from sharks to starfish are hoovered up by bottom trawling, which can destroy whole ecosystems and empty our seas of life. This also threatens communities seeking to make a sustainable living from our seas.
“How can we justify labeling them as ‘protected’ when we allow such intensive extraction industries within their boundaries? It is imperative for the government to take immediate action and prohibit these activities in our marine protected areas.”
Using satellite-tracking information provided by Global Fishing Watch, a publicly accessible nonprofit organization, Oceana determined that there were over 100,000 hours of suspected commercial fishing activity in the MPAs located near the British coast in the year 2023.
One-third of the total was contributed by vessels using bottom-towed equipment, like bottom trawls and dredges. Merely 6% of these vessels were from the UK, while the remaining were from other EU countries.
Professor Martin Attrill from Plymouth University expressed shock at the fact that trawling is still allowed in marine sanctuaries.
The UK seabed has been negatively affected by more than 100 years of industrial bottom trawling and dredging, which continues to pose a threat to our remaining important and delicate marine environments. This has also had a detrimental impact on the diversity and resilience of our oceans.
After being challenged by Oceana in 2021, the UK government agreed to limit bottom trawling in MPAs by 2024. Currently, they are enacting individual bylaws to safeguard specific areas like reefs within sanctuaries.
A consultation will commence this spring to discuss plans for the majority of England’s offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
A representative from Defra stated that their main goal is to halt harmful fishing practices in every designated Marine Protected Area in England. Their objective is to have all required bylaws established by the end of 2024, and additional limitations are set to take effect in 13 regions this week.
In 2022, four bylaws were put in place to prohibit the use of bottom-towed gear. These bylaws apply to four MPAs, including Dogger Bank, the biggest sandbank in UK waters.
A new rule will be implemented this week to limit bottom trawling in 13 more marine zones. This will be followed by a discussion regarding the proposed rules for the Western Channel Marine Protected Area and the South West (Deeps) East.
Source: theguardian.com
