A duo of environmental NGOs is taking legal action against the French government over its alleged flouting of EU law.
BLOOM and ClientEarth say that France is refusing to implement a ban imposed by the EU in 2006 on fishing methods such as bottom trawling, purse seining and dredging which are damaging to marine habitats.
“France continues to flout the European regulatory framework with impunity, bowing to the demands of the industrial fishing lobbies,” said Swann Bommier, BLOOM’s head of advocacy.
“At a time when the scientific community is sounding the alarm about the state of the oceans, and particularly the Mediterranean, it is urgent that Emmanuel Macron puts an end to the sham of ‘French-style’ protection and brings his actions in line with his rhetoric aimed at making France a ‘great ocean nation’.”
According to a report in sustainability journal, One Earth, 95% of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean are no more regulated than adjacent waters.
“The simple fact that France is allowing trawlers to fish in protected areas that should be closed to trawling is a scandal,” said Nils Courcy, a legal expert at ClientEarth.
The NGOs are demanding that France revises three decrees authorising bottom trawling where it should be banned and say they are prepared to go to court should the government ignore them.
Given that France is not the only nation allowing bottom trawling in protected areas, a lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences for MPAs across the EU, they say.
