Ban on bottom trawling- new EU-proposal

Bottom trawling is to be banned and phased out in all marine protected areas by 2030. The proposal is included in the European Commission’s new action plan to save the marine ecosystem.

According to the proposal, EU member states must also extend the protection to 30 percent of each country’s economic zone.
The World Wildlife Fund WWF in Sweden welcomes the ban but wishes it had come earlier.

– Now it takes seven extra years before it is in place. Today, fishing is prioritized over the environment, at the expense of biodiversity, says Inger Melander, fisheries expert at WWF, in a press release.

Bottom fishing causes great damage to the seabed with severe consequences for species and the environment.

– Now the Swedish government must implement what the EU has already decided, and the ban on bottom trawling must apply to all protected areas and not just within the trawl limit. Sweden should also not give the possibility of an exemption, says Melander.

The Green Party wants the proposal to be “converted into binding legislation as soon as possible.”

– It’s not just about the necessity to stop overfishing and protect endangered species. Bottom trawling also drives climate change, says EU parliamentarian Pär Holmgren in a press release.