EU slammed over failure to protect marine life from ‘destructive’ fishing

'Can we, in good conscience, pass our children the responsibility of writing the obituary for the world’s ocean?'

Mon, 19 Sep, 2022 - 12:00

Karen McVeigh

The waters of the EU are in a “dismal” state, with only a third of fish populations studied in the north-east Atlantic considered to be in good condition, according to more than 200 scientists and conservationists.

The analysis, issued in the past week, follows a scathing report from the European court of auditors two years ago, which warned that the EU had failed to halt marine biodiversity loss in Europe’s waters and to restore fishing to sustainable levels.

The EU has left 99% of continental waters unprotected from “high-impact activities” including bottom trawling and industrial-scale extraction, the scientists say, with only 1% set up as “true” marine protected areas (MPAs), By 2017, only 10.8% of the surface of Europe’s seas had been designated as MPAs.

In a declaration — published before a meeting in Brussels this week at which countries will agree common positions on December’s Cop15 global biodiversity conference — they urged member states to “raise the bar” of ocean conservation away from the “disastrous status quo”.

The scientists and conservationists, who include Alexandra Cousteau, president of the foundation Oceans 2050 and the granddaughter of the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and Enric Sala, explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society, urged member states to ban bottom trawling and industrial fishing in all EU MPAs.

“As of today, bottom trawling is conducted in 59% of the EU’s so-called ‘MPAs’, ironically depleting vulnerable species within their boundaries even faster than in nearby unprotected areas,” the declaration said.

“As they stand, EU MPAs fail to provide conservation benefits.” Bottom trawling is “the most destructive and fuel-intensive fishing practice”, causing widespread destruction of marine life, the declaration said. It also disturbs carbon stored on the seafloor, adding to emissions and exacerbating global heating.

Research from 2018 found that trawling intensity was greater and the abundance of marine life lower inside many EU MPAs than in nearby unprotected areas.

Last year, a study written by Sala and others said fishing boats that trawl the ocean floor released as much carbon dioxide as the entire aviation industry.

The scientists said a transition to “low-impact fisheries” and the protection of 30% of the EU’s waters by 2030 — including 10% as strictly “no-take zones”, a key mandate of the EU’s biodiversity strategy — would help restore marine life. It would also help replenish depleted fisheries, and “resuscitate exhausted small-scale coastal fisheries” and the livelihoods they support.

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OCEANS 2025

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). The apparatus assisted him in producing some of the first underwater documentaries. These included The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and The Cousteau Odyssey.

Alexandra Cousteau, Oceans 2050 president and co-founder

His granddaughter, Alexandra Cousteau is president of Oceans 2050. Aged eight, she joined her grandfather’s petition to create an Antarctic nature reserve.

Oceans 2050 aims to 'restore abundance to the world's oceans by 2050'.

"Our oceans are facing a legion of problems, and we will need a legion of answers.

At Oceans 2050 we work to enable and amplify how people and companies across all sectors can be contributors to a common vision of an abundant future — with thriving oceans — for our children and grandchildren.

In the past 60 years we have learned more about our ocean than ever before. From that knowledge, came understanding about the life-giving benefits humans derive from this vast expanse of blue.

Yet we have simultaneously ravaged her depths, pushing countless species to the brink of extinction, eradicating kelp forests and coral reefs, spreading dead zones and industrial pollution, and providing an endless stream of plastic that marine creatures of all sizes are choking on. If current trends continue, the ocean in 2050 will be a tragically sad, dirty and empty place.

Can we, in good conscience, pass our children the responsibility of writing the obituary for the world’s ocean?

As discouraging as the prognosis for the state of the oceans is for many of us, it is important to remember that the end has not been written.

We are entering a pivotal decade which will decide the future of the oceans. Will we reach the tipping points of critical loss that scientists are forecasting? Or will we seize the opportunity to restore abundant oceans and regenerate the resilience we will need to mitigate the changes we have already set in motion?

Exploration and scientific study have taught us that the oceans are remarkably resilient when we re-create the conditions that allow nature to flourish. We have the ability to reverse ocean acidification, regenerate dead zones, restore coastal kelp forests, and rebuild bountiful fisheries and thriving marine habitats. Our global ocean offers perhaps the greatest opportunity to reverse the damage of years of insufficient environmental protections with benefits that extend to people and the planet.

It is possible to restore abundant, diverse and resilient oceans in the span of just one human generation."