UK ministers are under mounting pressure to introduce a full ban on bottom trawling in marine protected areas (MPAs), following renewed concerns about the damaging impact on seabed habitats and marine biodiversity.
A parliamentary committee has urged the government to take decisive action to safeguard ocean ecosystems from destructive fishing practices.
The Environmental Audit Committee has called for bottom trawling, dredging, and seabed mining to be prohibited across the UK’s 900,000 square kilometres of marine protected zones. The committee emphasised that current protections are insufficient, allowing harmful activities to continue despite the supposed conservation status of these areas.
Bottom trawling involves dragging large, weighted nets across the ocean floor to catch commercial fish species like cod, haddock and sole. However, this method also results in high levels of bycatch and long-term damage to marine ecosystems. Much of the marine life caught is discarded, making the process both wasteful and ecologically harmful.
Environmental organisations have long campaigned against the practice, warning of its irreversible impact on delicate seabed environments. Public support for a ban has grown significantly in recent weeks following the release of a new documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The film, titled *Ocean*, highlights the severe destruction caused by trawling nets, which can leave scars in the seabed that take decades to heal.
The committee’s chair, Toby Perkins, urged the government to act swiftly and ensure that marine protected areas live up to their name. With the UK due to participate in a UN oceans summit this month, environmental campaigners argue that now is the time for firm policy commitments on ocean conservation.
Currently, only around 60 percent of the UK’s marine protected areas have any restrictions against damaging fishing methods. Although ministers have suggested that further measures could be implemented, a comprehensive ban has yet to be introduced.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has reiterated the government’s intention to protect marine life and restore ocean health. However, environmental groups and MPs are calling for urgent and concrete steps to prohibit bottom trawling and ensure the long-term protection of UK seas.
As international attention turns to marine sustainability, campaigners believe a full ban on bottom trawling in MPAs would position the UK as a global leader in ocean conservation. Without decisive action, they warn, the country’s rich marine ecosystems will remain at serious risk.
