New byelaws to protect the reef and rock habitats from bottom trawling and dredging in 13 marine protected areas (MPAs) were announced by the UK government today. While this is a positive move for these limited areas it still leaves the vast majority of the UK’s ‘protected’ areas vulnerable to these destructive fishing practices.
Bottom trawling and dredging mean dragging heavy metal gear and nets, which can be as large as a football field and weigh several tonnes, across the seafloor. Seabed habitats that are destroyed provide vital food and shelter for a wide variety of marine life; capture and store ‘blue carbon’; and form the infrastructure of sustainable, low-impact fisheries that many coastal people rely on.
The new byelaws do prevent this destruction but only for a very small proportion of the area covered by the UK’s MPAs.
“Defra’s new ban on bottom trawling on reef and rock habitat in 13 marine protected areas is a welcome step forward in the race to properly protect 30% of our seas by 2030. This highly destructive practice bulldozes marine habitats, and can destroy them in minutes, often never to recover.
But the fact that this ban is only for reef and rock only in 13 MPAs still leaves vast swathes of our so-called ‘protected’ areas open to this extremely harmful practice.
Targeting reef and rock habitat alone doesn’t account for the habitats and wildlife beyond those boundaries and does not support the full recovery of marine ecosystems. Allowing destructive bottom-trawling to continue anywhere in any marine protected area is completely incompatible with allowing ocean life to recover and flourish.”Hugo Tagholm, executive director, Oceana UK
These protected areas should be safe havens for the UK’s most valuable and threatened wildlife and habitats, but despite today’s apparent win for conservation, the vast majority of offshore MPAs remain unprotected from bottom-trawling and dredging. In 2022, our protected areas endured over 136,000 hours of industrial fishing with at least 6000 hours, and probably more, using bottom-towed gear, Oceana analysis indicated. In short, our MPAs are little more than ‘paper parks’.
Following a 2021 legal challenge by Oceana, the UK and Scottish governments agreed to “manage” bottom trawling in all offshore MPAs by the end of 2024. The Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Mark Spencer also stated – in slightly clearer terms – that the government is “aiming to have all MPAs in English waters protected from damaging fishing activity” by this time.
While byelaws are gradually being developed, and today’s announcement marks progress in that process, swifter and more comprehensive action is needed to ensure that these sites, and the awe-inspiring marine life they preserve, are protected in full. Until that time, the UK’s marine regulators remain in breach of several laws and obligations and continue to damage and degrade ocean wildlife and habitats and resilience of our seas.
“Under extreme pressure from overfishing, pollution and global heating, our seas are under enormous strain. Government has committed to protecting all offshore MPAs from damaging bottom-towed fishing gear by 2024. As an independent coastal state, we could use our new-found freedom to move quickly to introduce further byelaws to outlaw it once and for all across the whole of all marine protected areas.
Our marine wildlife is in urgent need of safe havens that are not at risk from this wholesale destruction.”Hugo Tagholm
Serikali ya Uingereza imetangaza sheria mpya za kulinda matumbawe na makazi ya miamba kutoka kwa trawling ya chini na dredging katika maeneo 13 ya ulinzi wa baharini (MPAs). Ingawa hii ni hatua nzuri kwa maeneo haya madogo bado inaacha idadi kubwa ya maeneo ya Uingereza "iliyohifadhiwa" kuwa dhaifu kwa mazoea haya ya uvuvi ya uharibifu. Kwa mfano, uvuvi wa chini wa trawl na dredging unamaanisha kuvuta vifaa vya chuma kizito na wavu, ambao unaweza kuwa mkubwa kama uwanja wa mpira wa miguu na uzito wa tani kadhaa, kwenye sakafu ya bahari. "Habitat za chini ya bahari ambazo zimeharibiwa hutoa chakula muhimu na makazi kwa aina mbalimbali za maisha ya baharini; kukamata na kuhifadhi ""kaboni ya bluu"" na kuunda miundombinu ya uvuvi endelevu, wa athari ndogo ambayo watu wengi wa pwani hutegemea." Sheria mpya za chini ya sheria zinazuia uharibifu huu lakini tu kwa sehemu ndogo sana ya eneo lililofunikwa na MPAs za Uingereza. "Kuanzisha kwa sheria mpya ya kutengeneza uvuvi wa baharini kwa kutumia nyuzi za chini kwenye matumbawe na miamba katika maeneo 13 yaliyohifadhiwa ya baharini ni hatua ya kufurahisha katika mbio za kulinda 30% ya bahari zetu kufikia 2030.""" Mazoea hayo yenye uharibifu mkubwa huharibu makao ya baharini, na yanaweza kuharibu makao hayo kwa dakika chache tu, na mara nyingi hayataweza kurudishwa tena. "Lakini ukweli kwamba marufuku hii ni tu kwa ajili ya matumbawe na miamba tu katika 13 MPA bado inaacha swathes kubwa ya maeneo yetu ya ""kulindwa"" wazi kwa zoea hili hatari sana." Kulenga matumbawe na miamba ya makazi peke yake haichukui nafasi ya makazi na wanyama wa porini zaidi ya mipaka hiyo na haitegemezi kupona kamili kwa mifumo ya ikolojia ya baharini. "Kuruhusu trawling ya chini ya maji kuendelea mahali popote katika eneo lolote la ulinzi wa baharini ni kinyume kabisa na kuruhusu maisha ya baharini kupona na kusitawi. ""Hugo Tagholm, mkurugenzi mtendaji, Oceana UK, ""Maeneo haya yaliyotunzwa yanapaswa kuwa mahali salama kwa wanyama wa mwituni na makazi ya thamani zaidi na ya kutishwa ya Uingereza, lakini licha ya ushindi wa leo kwa ajili ya uhifadhi, idadi kubwa ya maeneo ya baharini bado hayajalindwa kutoka kwa trawling ya chini na dredging." Katika mwaka wa 2021, maeneo yetu yalidumu zaidi ya masaa 136,000 ya uvuvi wa viwanda, na angalau masaa 6000, na labda zaidi, kwa kutumia vifaa vya kuvuta chini, uchambuzi wa Oceana ulionyesha. Kwa ufupi, MPA zetu ni kidogo zaidi ya "parks karatasi". Baada ya changamoto ya kisheria ya Oceana mnamo 2021, serikali za Uingereza na Scotland zilikubali "kusimamia" uvuvi wa chini katika maeneo yote ya baharini ya pwani ifikapo mwisho wa 2024. Waziri wa Mambo ya Mazingira, Chakula na Vijijini Mark Spencer pia alisema - kwa maneno wazi kidogo - kwamba serikali "ina lengo la kuwa na MPA zote katika maji ya Kiingereza kulindwa kutoka kwa uharibifu wa shughuli za uvuvi" kwa wakati huu. """Wakati sheria za chini zinaendelea kuundwa hatua kwa hatua, na tangazo la leo linaashiria maendeleo katika mchakato huo, hatua za haraka na kamili zinahitajika kuhakikisha kwamba maeneo haya, na maisha ya baharini ya kuvutia ambayo yanahifadhiwa, yanalindwa kikamilifu." "Hata hivyo, wakurugenzi wa bahari wa Uingereza wanabaki katika ukiukaji wa sheria na wajibu kadhaa na kuendelea kuharibu na kuharibu wanyama wa baharini na mazingira na nguvu ya bahari zetu. """ <unk>Chini ya shinikizo kubwa kutokana na uvuvi wa kupita kiasi, uchafuzi wa mazingira na ongezeko la joto duniani, bahari zetu ziko chini ya shinikizo kubwa. Serikali ya Uingereza imepanga kulinda maeneo yote ya baharini ya baharini dhidi ya uharibifu wa vifaa vya uvuvi vya chini ya bahari ifikapo 2024. Kama nchi huru ya pwani, tunaweza kutumia uhuru wetu mpya wa kuhamia haraka kuanzisha sheria zaidi za kisheria mara moja na kwa wote katika maeneo yote ya baharini yaliyohifadhiwa. Wanyama wetu wa baharini wanahitaji haraka makao salama ambayo hayako hatarini kutokana na uharibifu huu wa jumla. <unk> Hugo Tagholm