The largest sandbank in the UK has been protected from bottom trawling, an environmentally destructive fishery. technique.
Activists called. on in government for years to stop bottom trawling at Dogger Bank, an important site off East Coast of England for species, including sand eels, hermit crabs, flounders and starfish.
Recent data has shown that the method of fishing using weighted nets dragged along the seabed, tripled in entry in marine protected area (MPA) after Brexit.
This despite area received MPA status. There is bottom trawling in many of these ecologically significant areas, leading campaigners and experts call them nothing more than “paper parks”. This not only interferes with species living on the seabed is also significant source of release of carbon, as the seabed usually acts as valuable absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, but turns into a carbon source when disturbed.
Now the method will be disabled, with government sources referring to new legislation as result of Brexit Freedom. Presentation of four statutes using new powers under the Fisheries Act 2020 will take effect effect in June.
environment secretaryGeorge Eustis, said: “Outside the EU, we using our new freedom to protect our maritime environment. We will stop trawling and dredging in these protected marine areas to protect wildlife and habitats, through the powers we have in our Fisheries Act of 2020.”
In addition to the Dogger Bank, three more MPAs are being rescued from bottom trawling. These are Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge. special area of conservation lying off the south coast of Lincolnshire, the South Dorset Marine Protected Area and the Canyons Marine Protected Area, which in extreme southwest corner of British continental shelf area.
However, experts pointed out out there are 64 MPAs, most of which are little protected from destructive fishing.
Melissa Moore head of United Kingdom policy at the non-governmental organization Oceana, said: “This good news that government has in last took first step manage four of its 64 coastal benthic MPAs, given that harmful activities such as bottom trawling are prohibited in MOR according to the law of conservation.
“We are completely support Dogger Bank charter that will protect the entire site and have benefits for ecosystem of the North Sea beyond. However, the statute proposed for Internal Dowsing MPA is tiny and only protects parts of website. We call on UK to fix it and with delegated governments must act quickly to ban bottom towing gear in the remaining 60 offshore MPAs they promised to manage after the legal challenge in 2021. Now this is becoming more and more relevant due to the climate and environmental crises.”
Greenpeace is campaigning for in government stop trawling at Dogger Bank, dropping rocks in the first place in MPA to thwart trawlers. Activists turned to government to use This post- Brexit gives the right to go further and ban destructive fishing practices. in all MPA.
Fiona Nicholls, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “It has been 18 months since Greenpeace built protective boulder barrier in Dogger Bank and since then government obligation to stop bottom trawling in this iconic and ecologically important area. As long as it’s important step to protect some of most environmentally significant features of Dogger Bank, destructive industrial fishing boats like factory trawlers will still be allowed to plunder this, now partly protected area.
“We need in government get us on track it year fully or highly protect all of our marine protected areas. This means, as a starting point, a ban on all destructive industrial fishing vessels. It can be done using post- Brexit gives the right to restrict fishing licenses, not just rely on on cumbersome process of introduction of partial statutory site restrictions. Only then will Britain become true world leader in maritime protection and can nature and coastal communities have chance recover.”
