More than 90% of Britain’s offshore marine protected areas are still being bottom-trawled and dredged, two years after analysis of the extent of destructive fishingThe UK’s network of marine parks, set up to safeguard vulnerable areas of the seabed and marine life, is a cornerstone of the government’s target toBut analysis of fishing vessel tracking data from Global Fishing Watch and Oceana, a conservation NGO, found that fishing with bottom-towed gear took place last year on 58 out of 64...
Post-Brexit, the UK has granted licences for thousands of vessels to fish in all UK waters, including in all but two offshore MPAs. “No other activities, not houses, roads or ports, are licensed first and assessed later,” Moore said. “Yet this is what happens with fishing, despite the law being clear that you must not license activities until it has been proven they do not have an adverse effect on the site.
Nothing has been learnt 😡🥺