Building on the flurry of fisheries and biodiversity-focused events in 2023, which many were calling the ‘ocean super year’, members of the TBT Coalition are ratcheting up the pressure on coastal states across the globe to end the harm caused by bottom trawling and restore our oceans.

In February, members of the coalition descended on Vancouver to ensure bottom trawling was on the agenda at the Fifth International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5). Meanwhile, in Europe, all eyes turned to Brussels as the European Commission released its eagerly-awaited Ocean Action Plan, which includes overdue plans to end bottom trawling in marine protected areas. In Scotland, a small-scale fishers’ association made a powerful plea to the government to protect their beleaguered coastal fisheries from bottom trawling and dredging.

Together, these actions are part of a global movement to #TransformBottomTrawling, revive once-rich coastal fisheries and protect the marine life on which we all depend.