Leading marine scientists have urged the UK government to ban destructive bottom-trawl fishing in the UK’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and transform current protections from ‘little more than lines on a map’ to more robust means of enabling UK marine environments to recover from their ‘current states of degradation’.

The letter blasts the current protections offered to British waters, insisting that while bottom-trawl fishing persists within them, designated areas of marine protection simply won’t fulfil their potential to support thriving wildlife, sustainable jobs, and resilience to climate change.

“While the UK has designated more than 30% of its domestic waters as MPAs, almost all of these are currently little more than lines on a map, since they remain open to highly destructive bottom-trawling and dredging,” the letter reads.

The open communication has been signed by no fewer than 20 of the UK’s leading names in marine science, including Professor Martin Attrill, professor of marine ecology at the University of Plymouth, Professor Pip Moore, professor of marine science at Newcastle University, and Professor Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of Exeter and an Oceanographic columnist.

“These fishing practices are simply not compatible with meaningful marine protection,” states the letter.

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