Bottom fishing may be banned in Offshore Brighton

A fishing technique known as bottom fishing or bottom trawling may be banned in an area of the English Channel known as Offshore Brighton.

The prospect has been raised by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) which has started a formal consultation on a draft byelaw to ban the practice in 13 protected areas including Offshore Brighton.

Bottom trawling is a harmful activity in which weighted nets are dragged over the seabed, ploughing it up to catch fish.

By-laws to prevent such activity are already in place in areas including Dogger Bank and the Canyons but bottom trawlers have continued to fish in areas such as Offshore Brighton which is less than 30 miles from the Sussex coast.

The consultation and draft by-laws are part of the MMO’s efforts to protect all 40 English offshore marine protected areas (MPAs) from harmful fishing activity by next year.

If the by-laws come into effect, they would protect an area of more than 1,550 square miles or 4,000 square kilometres.

When combined with existing by-laws, the total area protected from bottom-towed fishing gear would total almost 6,450 square miles or 18,000 sq km.

As well as Offshore Brighton, the consultation covers 12 other areas: Cape Bank; East of Haig Fras; Farnes East; Foreland; Goodwin Sands; Haig Fras; Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton; Hartland Point to Tintagel; Land’s End and Cape Bank; North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef; South of Celtic Deep; and Wight-Barfleur Reef.

Oceana UK, which works to protect and restore the seas, has raised concerns that the by-laws might not protect entire MPAs.

Executive director Hugo Tagholm said: “While we welcome more proposed by-laws to restrict damaging fishing activities in MPAs, we are concerned they only protect reef features and not the whole MPA.

“Destructive bottom trawling and dredging inflict huge damage to biodiversity and the health of unique marine ecosystems. They are a crime against nature at a time when we must be urgently restoring it.”

The consultation, which started today Tuesday (17 January), will run alongside a call for evidence to gather views on the impacts of anchored nets and lines, bottom-towed fishing gear and traps on valuable marine features such as reefs and sandbanks.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said: “The UK has a strong track record on marine protection and we want more countries to step up and protect 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030.

“Today’s plans will deliver more crucial safeguards for vital biodiversity and help restore England’s marine ecosystems.

“We will listen carefully to the responses so that we can help habitats and species recover while ensuring we have a sustainable and successful fishing industry for years to come.”

The formal consultation and the call for evidence will run until Tuesday 28 March.