EU leaders are under fire as a new legal complaint targets bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) ahead of the UN Ocean Conference.
The challenge, filed by ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas at Risk and Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, argues that allowing destructive fishing in MPAs breaches EU nature laws and undermines marine conservation.
“The ocean floor is home to the foundations of life in our seas, and to a perfectly formed climate rescue committee,” said John Condon, ocean lawyer at ClientEarth.
“The EU is currently giving carte blanche to national fleets to take a wrecking ball to it day after day.”
Fishing violations
This legal move follows a landmark EU General Court ruling affirming that MPAs must be effectively protected from harmful practices like bottom trawling.
The new complaint, submitted to the European Commission, cites violations in Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain and calls for infringement procedures to enforce the EU Habitats Directive.
Recent research shows bottom trawling persists in over 60% of EU MPAs, despite mounting scientific, legal and public pressure. Critics argue this undermines sustainable fishing and destroys marine ecosystems, pushing fishers and biodiversity to the brink.
“Bottom trawling in protected areas is not legal,” said Tobias Troll of Seas at Risk. “If policymakers don’t live up to their obligations, we will bring them before court.”
With 250,000 Europeans signing a petition to end bottom trawling in MPAs and international momentum building, campaigners are urging the EU to align ocean policy with its climate and biodiversity goals before it’s too late.
