For two years, we worked to ban the most destructive fishing practice in Europe, known as bottom-trawling. Massive fishing nets bulldoze the ocean floor turning our precious ecosystems into wastelands; killing dolphins, seals, rare corals, and thousands of marine species.

And right now this is happening in Marine Protected Areas, places that like national parks are supposed to be protected because they are the most precious and diverse parts of our oceans.

In early 2023, the EU announced that it will ban bottom-bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas in Natura 2000 sites that protect the seabed and marine species by March 2024; and in all other Marine Protected Areas by 2030 and not to allow it in any newly established Marine Protected Areas.

We played a big role in this result! Together, we kept persevering. Watch the video to see the story of the campaign From diving into the ocean in protest, taking over the front cover of the newspaper Politico in Brussels, delivering a giant pop-up book to the key decision-maker, to sending thousands of messages and postcards!

Finally the EU Commission listened to citizens. Now, it’s the EU countries’ turn to properly implement this fantastic legislation: and that’s precisely what we continue to fight for.

197,437 of 250,000 signatures

The European Parliament and the European Commission

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European countries claim to want to protect the ocean and restore biodiversity in this ecological and climate emergency. As such, the EU must finally phase out destructive fishing practices, starting with an immediate ban of bottom trawling in all Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This must be a commitment in the EU Action plan on oceans due to be released after the summer 2021.

Why is this important?

Fishing nets as tall as a three-storey building and as wide as a football field scoop up the seabed everyday. In seconds, these nets destroy everything in their path, killing dolphins, seals, corals, seahorses and hundreds of other marine species.

This harmful industrial fishing practice is called bottom-trawling. [1] It’s happening right here in Europe, in the jewel of our oceans, inside Marine Protected Areas. [2]

The EU claims to protect our seas and restore biodiversity in this ecological and climate emergency, yet they still have not banned the disgraceful and destructive practice of bottom-trawling in “protected” areas.

With every day that passes, bottom-trawling destroys more and more marine life living on the seafloor and irreversibly damages our fragile marine ecosystems. Let’s show an outpouring of support from thousands of us to ensure that marine life is immediately protected from this unacceptable destruction.

References:

https://europe.oceana.org/en/publications/reports/unmanaged-unprotected-europes-marine-paper-parks
https://europe.oceana.org/en/publications/reports/unmanaged-unprotected-europes-marine-paper-parks

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We know Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will respond better if they receive personal messages.

Write and tell them why it’s time to make history by listening to science and people: Protect our Ocean, Biodiversity and Climate. Ban bottom-trawling now!

If you need inspiration check out a few arguments of why we need to stop this harmful fishing practice below that you could write in your own words in your email.

We create EU Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to protect the most precious and sensitive habitats and species in our waters, like coral, seagrass, turtles, sharks and dolphins. Yet the vast majority of MPAs do not have any real protection in place and allow the most destructive fishing.
Bottom-trawling is the most damaging type of fishing. It causes climate chaos by disturbing the seabed and releasing carbon into the atmosphere.
Bottom-trawling has been recognized by the European Environment Agency as the main cause of seabed destruction in Europe.
86% of EU Marine Protected areas are put in danger by bottom-trawling.
If the EU does not act urgently to ban the most destructive fishing in its most vulnerable marine areas, it will fail to meet its own commitments to save biodiversity and to become climate neutral.
Marine Protected Areas can help marine life cope with global warming and climate change - but only if we stop destructive fishing in these areas. If we take care of our marine life, we can improve the overall resilience of our ecosystem.
The seabed is the world's largest carbon storage reservoir. A ban on bottom-trawling would prevent the disturbance and release of this carbon, and help to protect our planet from global warming.
Banning the most destructive fishing methods in our most precious marine areas is necessary to deliver on biodiversity, climate and ocean protection.

To:

Andrey KOVATCHEV, Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)

Rareș BOGDAN

Morten LØKKEGAARD, Renew Europe

Ilhan KYUCHYUK, Renew Europe

Atidzhe ALIEVA-VELI, Renew Europe

Dacian CIOLOS, Renew Europe

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Can you help us continue the fight to protect and restore our oceans and build a Europe that pushes for more sustainable and community-driven fishing, by giving a little today?

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