Fishing: Super trawler Margiris roams the English Channel
Supertrawlers such as the Dutch-flagged Margiris are regular visitors to UK waters, and while there is no suggestion they are operating illegally, environmentalists blame them for the deaths of dolphins and other marine wildlife. Speaking on Sunday, the Prime Minister told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Brexit meant the UK “will be able to ban these huge hoover trawlers that come in and hoover up everything off the bottom of the sea”.
We request that the Government proposes a ban on supertrawlers from UK
The petition, started by Robert Read, states: “We request that the Government proposes a ban on supertrawlers from UK waters after the UK becomes an Independent sic Coastal State and is no longer restricted by the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) which allowed these huge vessels to decimate fish stocks and endanger marine ecosystems and species.”
It adds: “Supertrawlers are factory sized fishing vessels over 100m which trail nets a mile long catching thousands of tonnes of fish including bycatch and protected species including cetaceans.
“Foreign owned supertrawlers are regularly decimating the UK’s fish stocks and endanger protected marine species.
The Dutch-flagged Margiris is a regular visitor (Image: Greenpeace)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Image: GETTY)
In 2019 such vessels fished in 39 of the UK’s marine protected areas, while in the first six months of 2020 a total of 23 supertrawlers (mostly Dutch and Russian) fished in 19 marine protected areas.”
The petition, which runs until March 23, had 42,024 signatures as of 8.30am this morning.
Having passed the 10,000 mark, the Government is required to respond.
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The Afrika, another supertrawler (Image: Greenpeace)
If it hits 100,000, the matter will have to be debated in the House of Commons.
Greenpeace has been pushing for tougher restrictions on supertrawlers, having undertaken several analyses on the subject.
One carried out last year suggested the ships spent almost 6,000 hours fishing in specially designated marine protected areas (MPAs) around the UK coastline in the first six months of 2020 alone.
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The Dutch-flagged Carolien (Image: Greenpeace)
A supertrawler is followed by seagulls in the English Channel (Image: Greenpeace)
A report published by the Marine Conservation Society yesterday indicated almost all MPAs were being targeted by supertrawlers.
Greenpeace’s Chris Thorne commented said: “This is yet more evidence that the UK’s marine protected areas are not fit for purpose.
“How can this Government allow destructive industrial bottom trawlers to rip up almost all of our protected areas of seabed, harming marine life and ecosystems and disturbing vital carbon stores, while still claiming to be a ‘global ocean champion’?
The petition has now got more than 42,000 signatures (Image: Government website)
“The time has come for the Government to stop hiding behind empty statements, and deliver on its Brexit promise to properly protect our seas.
“A robust network of marine protected areas, where all destructive fishing like bottom trawling is banned, would make the UK a genuine world leader in marine protection and could also help us combat the climate emergency.
“Now is the time for the Government to deliver.”
Speaking earlier this week, Jeremy Percy, chairman of the New Under Tens Fishing Association (NUTFA), was sceptical about the Government’s ability to ban the vessels in practice.
A Greenpeace graphic shows where the Afrika fished last year (Image: Greenpeace)
Referring to the trade agreement struck between the UK and the EU and unveiled on Christmas Eve, he told Express.co.uk: “In terms of banning them from our waters altogether, the ‘deal’ done is close to the status quo in terms of foreign access to our waters, ostensibly for 5.5 years but in reality in perpetuity.
“I say this as we caved in on almost every fisheries related promise on the basis of getting a wider deal and the Agreement says that in 5.5 years if we seek to change things in terms of access we can be penalised, up to and including affecting the wider trade deal so if we have caved now, we will certainly cave again at that time.”
“It is also the case that those very powerful companies that own these vessels would take the UK to whatever courts they could if we tried to ban them from accessing their fishing rights so I’m not holding my breath that Johnson and co will man up in this respect.”
