Trawling in Marine Protected Areas: Two NGOs Take Legal Action Against the State

Two organizations have filed lawsuits with the Council of State and the Administrative Court of Rouen to denounce trawling in two protected areas of the English Channel. This fishing technique is known to damage the seabed.

The NGOs, Défense des Milieux Aquatiques and the Foundation for Environmental Justice, have filed a legal appeal against the French state to obtain a ban on bottom trawling in two marine protected areas in the English Channel, franceinfo reported on Tuesday, February 11, citing the NGOs.

The two affected marine areas are the Flanders Banks off Dunkirk and the Chausey Islands in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. These areas are classified as Natura 2000 sites, yet trawlers are still allowed to drag their nets there. The NGOs have also submitted an appeal to the Administrative Court of Rouen.

Trawling « causes erosion of the seabed and captures everything, » explains Philippe Garcia from Défense des Milieux Aquatiques. According to Mathilde Ollivier, a senator from Europe Écologie Les Verts, this legal action highlights « the contradiction between France’s major commitments, the President of the Republic, successive ministers, and reality. » « The reality is that no fishing technique or vessel size is regulated or banned in these marine protected areas, » she laments.

France is set to host the UN Ocean Conference in Nice this June.

Source: francetvinfo