Deep-sea species at risk of extinction, says commission

Valuable deep sea species found off the Irish coast in water up to 4km deep will be fished to extinction if EU states do not overturn a decision made by members of the European Parliament, the European Commission has warned.

By just 16 votes the MEPs voted against a ban on bottom-fishing trawlers mostly carried out by French and Spanish vessels in the north-east Atlantic off the Irish and Scottish coasts.

Environmentalists warn that using heavy gillnets, trawlers scoop up everything on the seabed destroying ecosystems that are essential breeding grounds and contributing to the substantial drop in these species.