"The government claims vast areas of UK waters are protected, but the reality is a national scandal. Protection means nothing if these hulking industrial trawlers are allowed to devastate crucially important areas."
"A report last year found North Sea cod, Celtic Sea cod, Irish Sea whiting, Irish Sea herring and North Sea and east English Channel horse mackerel were all at critically low levels, yet continued to be overfished."
"According to Greenpeace UK's analysis of UK and EU fisheries data, during the four years examined more than 1 million tonnes of fish were caught by pelagic trawlers, scooping up everything in their path."
Almost 40% of England's seas are designated as marine protected areas to safeguard marine ecosystems. However, over 1.3 million tonnes of fish were caught by trawlers in these areas from 2020 to 2024. Campaigners argue that these protections are merely symbolic, as industrial fishing practices devastate marine life. Key fish species are at critically low levels due to overfishing. The MPA system, established in the 1980s, has not effectively prevented the destruction of marine ecosystems, raising concerns about the true effectiveness of these protections.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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