this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2025
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UK Nature and Environment

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Ministers must ban bottom trawling for fish in marine protected areas, an influential group of MPs has said, because the destructive practice is devastating the seabed and marine life.

The UK parliament’s environmental audit committee called for a ban to encompass dredging and mining as well as the bottom trawling of fish in the 900,000 sq km covered by nearly 180 marine protected areas.

Despite the name, these areas are open for many sorts of fishing, including bottom trawling – the practice of dragging immense and heavy nets across the seabed to scoop up all in their path, most of which is discarded while prized fish such as sole, cod and haddock are kept.

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[–] wewbull@feddit.uk 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It's not very protected if you allow bottom trawling. You're allowing all the habitat to be destroyed. The remains looks like a bulldozer has been through.

How was this ever allowed?

[–] essell@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Ministers must ban bottom trawling for fish

I was so relieved when they clarified this applies to fish.

Thought it was another culture war thing