Campaigners hail plan to prohibit backside trawling in part of England’s secure seas

Environmental teams have welcomed executive proposals to prohibit the damaging fishing apply referred to as backside trawling in part of England’s secure seas.

The plan, to be introduced on Monday by means of the surroundings secretary, Steve Reed, got here sooner than a UN summit in Nice to take on the sea’s failing well being. It follows power from conservationists and the discharge of a David Attenborough movie that includes uncommon underwater pictures of the devastation to the seabed led to by means of backside trawling in British waters.

The apply contain vessels dragging weighted nets over prone habitats, forcing fish, shellfish and undesirable bycatch into an infinite trawl internet.

The executive’s proposals would ban the apply in 41 marine secure spaces (MPAs), specializing in ecologically delicate and prone seabed habitats, protecting 30,000 squarekm of England’s seas. Together with present bans, the proposal would carry the entire house through which backside trawling is banned to 48,000 squarekm.

Reed, who will constitute the United Kingdom on the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), stated the federal government used to be taking “decisive action” to offer protection to England’s seas. “Bottom trawling is damaging our precious marine wildlife and habitats,” he stated. “Without such action, our oceans would be irreversibly destroyed.”

Joan Edwards, the director of coverage on the Wildlife Trusts, which has lengthy campaigned for higher control of MPAs, stated: “Removing this pressure is a great step forward towards protecting not only the wildlife and fish stocks within those sites but also the carbon stored in the seabed muds beneath.”

She stated she was hoping after the federal government’s session at the proposals that the measures would follow unexpectedly in a “win-win” for nature and the local weather.

Hugo Tagholm, the chief director of Oceana UK, stated that if the bans have been absolutely carried out it could supply “an invaluable and urgently needed lifeline for England’s seas”.

Oceana discovered that fishing vessels with bottom-towed equipment have been lively in the United Kingdom’s offshore MPAs for 33,000 hours in 2023, including as much as 4 years.

Jonny Hughes, the senior coverage supervisor on the Blue Marine Foundation, an ocean conservation charity, stated: “Conservation policy is awash with shiny new announcements and impressive sounding targets whereas what is needed is actual delivery. This, at first glance seems to be about delivering conservation. We need to see the full details, but initial reading is positive.”

The session, introduced by means of the Marine Management Organisation with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will run for 12 weeks from 9 June.

Attenborough, who used to be interviewed by means of Prince William sooner than the UN ocean convention, which opens on Monday, stated he used to be appalled by means of the pictures in his movie, Ocean. “If you did anything like it on land, everyone would be up in arms,” he stated.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, who’s co-hosting UNOC with Costa Rica, can be beneath power on the convention to decide to protective extra of French waters, towards the needs of the rustic’s fishing foyer. Macron’s place of job has stated a very powerful announcement could be made in Nice.