Call for fishing ban on supertrawlers

Four in five back call to protect fishing

INDUSTRY: Four in five people want “destructive” supertrawlers banned from fishing in the UK’s marine protected areas, a poll has shown.

The huge boats – the largest of which is more than 465ft long – are controversial because of the way they “vacuum” up huge quantities of fish every day.

FOUR IN five people want “destructive” supertrawlers banned from fishing in the UK’s marine protected areas (MPAs), a poll shows.

The huge boats – the largest of which is more than 465ft long – are controversial because of the way they “vacuum” up huge quantities of fish every day.

There have been calls to use new Brexit powers to ban them from marine protected areas, or from UK waters altogether.

The vessels’ presence off the UK coast has led to fears over fishing stocks and spikes in numbers of dolphin deaths.

Now, a YouGov poll commissioned by Greenpeace reveals that four in five members of the British public want the factory ships banned from fishing in the UK’s MPAs. The vital areas protect important marine ecosystems and species, including porpoises and reefs.

Philip Evans, an oceans camthe

paigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “Supertrawlers must be banned from our protected areas.”

He said: “This polling makes absolutely clear that the public is united behind our call for a ban on supertrawlers fishing in protected areas.

“After a decade of political division, our call cutting across political divide should send a firm message to the Government that enough is enough”.

The poll of 1,664 people reported that 81 per cent said supertrawlers should be banned from fishing in protected areas, with only four per cent saying they should be permitted to fish in them.

A petition to ban supertrawlers from MPAs launched by Greenpeace last week has gathered more than 130,000 signatures.

Mr Evans said Britain’s departure from the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy “is the perfect opportunity” to ban supertrawlers.

He added: “Our Government should listen to its constituents, and commit to banning supertrawlers from protected areas as a first step towards designating a network of fully or highly protected MPAs off-limits to all destructive activity across 30 per cent of the UK’s waters.”

A Defra spokesperson, said: “The UK is a global leader in the fight to protect our seas with our ‘Blue Belt’ of protected waters nearly twice the size of England.”