Large trawlers fishing in English waters will soon have to install cameras that will monitor their catch, the Government has said. Known as remote electronic monitoring (REM), the cameras, along with gear sensors and GPS trackers, will collect data on the size of catches as well as types of species caught and will be introduced in stages over the […]
The Dogger Bank marine protected area (MPA), has experienced a 98% decrease in bottom towed fishing since a ban was introduced, according to research by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). In June 2022, a byelaw came into force that banned damaging fishing activities from four English offshore MPAs. Between June and October (2015-2019), an average […]
The Our Seas coalition, a group of 135 organisations, have written an open letter to the BBC suggesting that the BBC TV series Trawlermen ‘has missed a vital opportunity to explore urgent sustainability issues, as well as failing to reflect the important diversity of the fishing industry.’ The coalition says that the new series launched in […]
New research on the vulnerability of the UK’s seabed carbon stores to the pressures from bottom trawling by fishing boats could help protect vulnerable shelf seas. Researchers from the University of St Andrews have collaborated with Scottish Government scientists to develop a new predictive approach that will help assess how vulnerable the UK’s seabed […]
Part of the UK Government’s ‘Benefits of Brexit’ document contains a small section entitled ‘Flourishing offshore Marine Protected Areas’. The report talks of ‘one of the biggest challenges for the UK previously was securing other countries’ endorsement for offshore Marine Protected Areas management measures through the Common Fisheries Policy process. Now that we are an […]
A socioeconomic analysis [1] commissioned by Seas At Risk and carried out has revealed that a ban on bottom-contacting gear (bottom trawling and bottom dredging) in Marine Protected Areas would yield net benefits as soon as four years after the ban comes into force. The study highlights that after 13 years of such a ban, […]
Emma Sheehan and colleagues Abstract ‘Marine protected areas (MPAs) are employed as tools to manage human impacts, especially fishing pressure. By excluding the most destructive activities MPAs can rewild degraded areas of seabed habitat. The potential for MPAs to increase ecosystem resilience from storms is, however, not understood, nor how such events impact seabed habitats. […]
For World Oceans Day, Greenpeace UK launched “Operation Ocean Witness” and is urging the UK government to “get ocean protection done”. A six month operation, involving new Greenpeace ship Sea Beaver, will patrol the UK’s protected areas off the south coast of England and “do what the government has so far failed to do” – […]