Puffins starve as the EU challenges the UK's lifesaving fishing ban. This
legal battle prioritises industrial fishing profits over the iconic
seabird.

Demand the EU withdraw its case and protect puffins from extinction.

[ [link removed] ]Close up photo of a puffin, a black and white bird with an orange and
yellow beak, with grass in the background


[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 

   
John,

The EU is putting puffins on the brink of extinction by challenging the
UK’s lifesaving ban on sandeel fishing in the North Sea. This reckless
legal battle prioritises industrial fishing profits over the survival of
one of Europe’s most iconic seabirds.

The UK introduced the ban in March 2024 to protect sandeels, the primary
food source for puffins, kittiwakes, and other vulnerable species. This
bold action has been hailed by conservationists across Europe as a
critical move to save seabirds from further collapse.

Puffins are already struggling—since 2000, their population has dropped by
25%, and experts warn it could plummet by 90% by 2050 without urgent
intervention​.

But now, the EU is fighting back. In April 2024, they initiated legal
action under the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement, arguing that
the UK’s ban breaches their fishing rights. This move threatens to undo
all the progress made to protect puffins and other marine wildlife. Danish
fishing fleets, which haul in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sandeels
every year, are driving this challenge, putting their economic interests
above the survival of seabirds.

[ [link removed] ]Puffins are starving, and time is running out. Demand the EU stop
prioritising corporate profits over the survival of a species!

Make no mistake: puffins are starving, and this legal wrangling could push
them over the edge. Without sandeels, puffins can’t feed their chicks, and
entire colonies could collapse. Every day this legal challenge continues,
puffins inch closer to extinction.

The EU must drop this case immediately and align with conservation efforts
to protect our oceans and the wildlife that depend on them. We cannot
allow short-term profits to dictate the fate of an entire species.

[ [link removed] ]Sign this petition now—demand that the EU withdraw its case and protect
puffins from extinction. The clock is ticking, and their survival is in
our hands!



[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 



Thanks for all that you do,
David and the team at Ekō


More information:

[ [link removed] ]Ban on sandeel fishing to support UK’s struggling seabirds Natural
History Museum 01 February 2024

[ [link removed] ]Nature charities back UK pressing ahead with world-leading sandeel
protections, despite EU legal pressure Oceana 01 May 2024

[ [link removed] ]Closure of English and Scottish waters to sandeel fishing provides a
lifeline for North Sea seabirds BirdLife 31 January 2024

 

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]