| Europe moves to protect deep-sea sites in Atlantic from bottom fishing | |
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The European Commission recently announced that it will protect 16,000 square kilometers (6,200 square miles) of the deep sea — known as “vulnerable marine ecosystems” — in EU waters in the northeast Atlantic Ocean by prohibiting bottom fishing in these areas.
This move is a key component to the Deep-Sea Access Regulation, a plan adopted by the EC in 2016 to protect deep-sea environments in EU waters. However, the regulation stipulated that vulnerable marine ecosystems should be protected by 2018, so its implementation comes four years late.
The fishing sector has warned that this move will threaten the future of bottom fishing and impact more than 10,000 fishers.
Conservation experts have welcomed this announcement, despite its lateness, saying that such a move is essential in protecting fragile and ecologically important deep-sea environments. |
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On Sept. 15, the European Commission made a historic announcement: it will prohibit bottom fishing across 16,000 square kilometers, or 6,200 square miles — an area about half the size of Belgium — in waters controlled by the European Union in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. While some fisheries representatives have criticized the decision, saying it will lead to “devastating consequences” for the industry, conservation experts say it’s a necessary step to protect ecologically significant deep-sea environments. |
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