Hi John,

I’ve got some great news to tell you. Bottom trawling is now permanently banned in four offshore UK Marine Protected Areas - including the vast Dogger Bank in the North Sea! It’s a win for ocean life, the climate and coastal communities.

Today’s news is a really positive step forward. But in terms of protecting our waters, it’s just a drop in the ocean. There are dozens more UK MPAs still being plundered by industrial fishing vessels.

We need to keep this momentum going and show the politicians that they must go further. 

Please can you help pressure politicians to ban destructive fishing from all UK MPAs?

People power and direct action works. In September 2020, activists and campaigners created a protected area of seabed in the Dogger Bank MPA by dropping boulders from one of our ships, and this made national headlines. Now, it’s fully protected from bottom trawling. [1]

Allowing industrial fishing in a supposed “protected” area is like bulldozing a national park. Supertrawlers and bottom trawlers spend thousands of hours each year fishing in UK protected areas. [2] They’re destroying marine life and leaving local fishing communities with nothing left to catch. 

So far, over 430,000 people have signed our petition calling on politicians to protect the UK’s waters and support local fishing communities. Can you help us reach 500,000? This would send a big message that the UK public demands better protection for our seas.

MPAs are meant to protect vulnerable ecosystems and iconic wildlife like coral reefs and porpoises. It’s ridiculous then that the politicians are allowing these enormous and destructive vessels to operate in these areas.

Local fishing communities across the UK are being left high and dry. Healthy oceans are key for their livelihoods and they’re also one of our best defenses against the climate crisis. 

The news today shows that together we can change politicians’ minds. Now let’s make sure they don’t stop here.

Tell the politicians to ban supertrawlers and other destructive fishing from all UK MPAs.

Thanks and have a great bank holiday weekend,

Jack

Greenpeace

[1] Greenpeace expands boulder barrier in marine protected area as government fails to strengthen safeguards

[2] Supertrawlers ramp up activity in UK protected waters during lockdown

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