Europe’s pressured marine protected areas (MPAs) and the life they harbour have been left to fend for themselves by European leaders who gathered this week for the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC). Despite scientific evidence and citizen pressure, the Nice Action Plan that outlines the commitments made at UNOC confirms that only a handful of EU Member States took steps towards protecting MPAs, while the vast majority took no decisive action to prevent destructive fisheries such as bottom trawling in these precious marine habitats.
The underwhelming lack of ambition on EU MPAs is especially tone deaf given the EU’s recent publication of the European Ocean Pact, which was presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at UNOC. The Pact claims to prioritise the protection and restoration of ocean health, which is in line with existing EU commitments including the Marine Action Plan which calls on Member States to phase out bottom trawling in MPAs.
While some countries including the United Kingdom are taking the right steps and banning destructive bottom trawling from MPAs, EU countries have failed to take action. Mild progress was made in Portugal, where the expansion of its MPA network was announced, although the management plan for these areas is yet to be defined. Denmark reaffirmed its commitment to banning bottom trawling in parts of its waters and to continuing the designation of strictly protected areas — aiming to reach 8% by 2028 and 10% by 2030. Similarly, Sweden referred to its preexisting plan to introduce a future ban on bottom trawling in some MPAs. Some countries showed sheer confusion in their stance, such as Spain which publicly defended harmful bottom trawling while simultaneously announcing a fishing ban to protect a unique deep-sea reef in the Alboran Sea. In a pure box-ticking exercise, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a ban on bottom trawling in 4% of French waters where absolutely no trawling takes place.
Speaking after the conference, Senior Marine Policy Officer Tatiana Nuño said:
“The legacy of EU countries at this conference on ocean protection can be summed up as: ‘Do as I say, not as I do’. While the Commission President spoke on one stage about the importance of ocean health, EU leaders took to others to give industrial trawlers a free pass to destroy the seabed and the precious life it supports. Our ocean cannot take any more. Europe has the most trawled seas in the world, which makes the EU’s inaction on protecting its seas even more damning.”
The responsibility for the lack of action to protect MPAs from destructive activities lies squarely with national governments. Instead of presenting well managed MPAs and sustainable fishing solutions, EU countries have once again displayed a lack of political will and courage to tell industrial trawlers that enough is enough.
The European Commission, as the enforcer of EU law, bears a duty to hold national governments accountable. This is why Seas At Risk , together with its member Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, ClientEarth and Oceana, has launched a legal complaint to the European Commission, to call for infringement action to be taken against countries that continue to flout EU nature laws including the EU Habitats Directive.
The challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change are interconnected and affect every country. This is a European responsibility that requires a unified response. As EU leaders return from UNOC, it is critical that voices that value the ocean and the role it plays for people and the planet continue to speak up. As discussions switch from UNOC to the content of the European Ocean Pact, pressure is on our leaders to make sure EU nature laws and fishing policies are upheld, so they do the job they were designed for.
