Two major new studies, both released today, have together demonstrated significant impacts of bottom trawling and demonstrate the feasibility of a transition away from trawling.
Image description: Two trawling boats side by side at sea. Image by günter from Pixabay
Trawling costs up to €11bn a year:
Firstly, the study by National Geographic Pristine Seas shows that bottom trawling results in a net cost to European society of up to €11 billion every year. Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and one of the authors of the report, said that while “the fishing lobby argues for the benefits that bottom trawling provides for society, jobs, economic revenue and food… they never mention the costs”. In a first of its kind study, the researchers decided to calculate the costs and benefits of this fishing practice to both the industry and society at large, reporting their results that the costs of bottom trawling far exceed the benefits.
Significantly, the study largely attributed this cost to the carbon dioxide emissions released by bottom trawling disturbing sediments on the seafloor. This study was undertaken following the recent discovery “that bottom trawling, by churning up the sediments on the seafloor, releases CO2 on the scale of global aviation and that half of those underwater emissions will end up in the atmosphere”.
The study’s authors also point out that European taxpayers are funding these practises. European governments spend an estimated €1.3 billion on subsidies for bottom trawling every year, they say, a figure that is nearly equivalent to the value of the jobs the industry creates. Italy, Norway, Denmark, Great Britain and Sweden offer the highest amounts.
Breaking free from trawling
Secondly, during the Week of Ocean Action, BLOOM is publishing a new report, “Breaking Free from Trawling”. Research from BLOOM and French researchers from L’Institut Agro and the French Natural History Museum has found that around 800 French bottom trawling vessels destroy roughly 670,000 square kilometres of seabed each year – an area bigger than France itself. However, according to the report, redirecting subsidies away from trawling could provide a pathway for financing a fair transition for the fishing industry. BLOOM Director Claire Nouvian says the French government has been subsidising trawling for decades and the “trawling lobby was blasting with joy” following France’s President Emmanuel Macron recent announcement of €700 million for the fishing industry to modernise its fleets and strengthen food sovereignty.
No EU Country has comprehensive plans to phase out bottom trawling:
In further analysis, released to mark the first anniversary of EU countries’ deadline to submit Marine Action Plan roadmaps, NGOs Seas At Risk, Oceana and ClientEarth revealed that multiple EU member states are failing to safeguard their MPAs from destructive fishing practices. The findings highlight that not a single EU country has established comprehensive plans to phase out bottom trawling from MPAs by 2030, despite EU nature laws and international biodiversity commitments that legally bind EU Member States to implement rigorous protection measures for these marine areas.
The coalition of marine NGOs is taking governments to court in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden for infringing EU nature laws by failing to protect their MPAs against the impacts of bottom trawling.
Leading ocean organisations join forces to end ‘marine deforestation’:
Leading ocean organisations, including Seas At Risk, BLOOM, Oceana, EarthEcho International, Rise Up and The Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition, are jointly demanding an immediate ban on destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling in Europe’s marine protected areas (MPAs). Forbidding this fishing practice in marine protected areas (MPAs), they add, would benefit marine life, the climate and even the fishing industry.
It comes as Oceana, Only One, National Geographic Pristine Seas and Together for the Ocean are co-ordinating the Week of Ocean Action initiative, a 200,000-strong public petition and a series of events to build momentum ahead of the SOS Ocean Summit in Paris next week. They hope by uniting advocacy efforts the campaign will push for major commitments on marine protection ahead of the landmark UN Ocean Conference taking place in Nice this June.