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Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition
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Newsletter: April 2022
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Welcome to the Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition newsletter with updates from our members and the coalition's achievements.
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This month we welcomed the Fisheries Secretariat to the global movement to transform bottom trawling. This brings us to 52 members working across 25 countries!
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We’ve been busy preparing for the packed schedule of global ocean events in 2022, starting with the UN Oceans Conference in Lisbon, which will take place in June.
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April also presented a new opportunity to campaign for bottom trawling to be banned in European marine protected areas. Bottom trawling is allowed in a shocking 86% of EU marine protected areas (MPAs), damaging the same habitats that these MPAs are supposed to defend. Read more about this opportunity and how you can support the campaign below.
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May’s shaping up to be a busy month for the coalition. Follow the coalition on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest campaign news, research, and events.
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COALITION UPDATES
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New members
The Fisheries Secretariat
The Fisheries Secretariat (FishSec) is a politically independent non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting and restoring marine ecosystem services, with a focus on fisheries. FishSec was established in 2003 and the hub is in Stockholm.
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- Well managed seas with rich biodiversity.
- Thriving fish stocks to secure healthy and local seafood to consumers.
- A sustainable fishing sector.
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FishSec advocates for fisheries within the limits of the marine ecosystem, preserving marine resources as well as their habitats. It is mainly active in the EU and regional policy development in the Baltic Sea.
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CAMPAIGN UPDATES
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Opportunity to ban bottom trawling in EU MPAs
Less than 1% of the EU’s marine area is protected from bottom-towed gear, and bottom trawling is permitted in 86% of EU marine protected areas (MPAs). The coalition is campaigning for the European Parliament to ban bottom trawling all MPAs to protect biodiversity and critical carbon stores.
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On 3 May 2022, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will vote on whether or not to accept an amendment to the “Toward a sustainable blue economy in the EU” report, which would see new recommendations for bottom trawling to be prohibited in all marine protected areas.
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If the amendment is accepted, we’ll be another step closer to ensuring that bottom trawling is prohibited in all marine protected areas in EU waters.
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The coalition’s European members have collaborated with other groups to develop camping materials designed to influence MEP’s votes in the plenary discussion.
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You can support this campaign by sharing the social media infographic below, amplifying members’ tweets (e.g. here, here and here) and news stories (e.g. here and here).
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WEBSITE UPDATES
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The Untrawled Truth
We’ve added a new report to the coalition's Research page.
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WWF Europe published new research which reveals that 92% of recorded fisheries discards in the EU come from bottom trawl fisheries.
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In 2019, around 230,000 tonnes of discards were reported in the EU – roughly equivalent to the amount of cod that swam in the North Sea in the early 1970s, when the fish population was healthy.
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The study concluded that the leading cause of illegal dumping of fish in EU waters is the fishing gear, not the vessel size.
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This provides further justification for the coalition’s calls to #TransformTrawling.
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BOTTOM TRAWLING NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
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Asia and Asia-Pacific
Africa
Europe
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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
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Are there bottom trawling news or events you’d like us to amplify via this newsletter? If yes, please get in touch with Tom ([email protected]), and we may include it in next month’s issue.
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