Environmental groups welcome government proposals to clamp down on destructive fishing practice
Environmental groups have welcomed government proposals to ban the destructive fishing practice known as bottom trawling in half of England’s protected seas.
The plan, to be announced on Monday by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, came before a UN summit in Nice to tackle the ocean’s failing health. It follows pressure from conservationists and the release of a David Attenborough film featuring rare underwater footage of the devastation to the seabed caused by bottom trawling in British waters.
The practice involve vessels dragging weighted nets over vulnerable habitats, forcing fish, shellfish and unwanted bycatch into a vast trawl net.
The government’s proposals would ban the practice in 41 marine protected areas (MPAs), focusing on ecologically sensitive and vulnerable seabed habitats, covering 30,000 sq km of England’s seas. Together with existing bans, the proposal would bring the total area in which bottom trawling is banned to 48,000 sq km.
