Greenpeace drops 18 limestone boulders onto seabed off coast of Cornwall in attempt to block ‘destructive industrial fishing’
- Campaigners threw rocks into South West Deeps to prevent bottom-trawling
- Marine Management Organisation (MMO) said the action was potentially illegal
- More than half of industrial vessels in the area were from France
Greenpeace dropped 18 limestone boulders on an area of seabed off the coast of Cornwall in an attempt to block ‘destructive industrial fishing’.
Campaigners threw rocks into South West Deeps from its ship Arctic Sunrise on Thursday 1 September in a bid to stop companies using nets along the sea floor to capture fish.
The names of high-profile figures who support the action, including Simon Pegg, Stephen Fry, Conservative MPs Henry Smith and Sir Peter Bottomley, were stencilled onto the boulders before they were dropped.
Greenpeace said bottom-trawling threatens the Government’s aim to achieve at least 30% ocean protection by 2030.
The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has said that the action is potentially illegal and has launched an investigation.
Campaigners threw rocks into South West Deeps from its ship Arctic Sunrise on Thursday 1 September in a bid to stop companies using nets along the sea floor to capture fish
Greenpeace stencilled the name of Sir Peter Bottomley, an MP who has previously raised concerns about ‘unsustainable fishing’. However the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has said that the action is potentially illegal and has launched an investigation
Stephen fry’s name was also drawn on one of the large boulders. In the last 18 months, the South West Deeps experienced almost 19,000 hours of industrial fishing, 3,370 hours of which was bottom-trawling, according to Global Fishing Watch data
The environmental group’s action took place days after UK leaders failed to help secure a Global Ocean Treaty at Intergovernmental Conference 5 in New York.
In the last 18 months, the South West Deeps experienced almost 19,000 hours of industrial fishing, 3,370 hours of which was bottom-trawling, according to Global Fishing Watch data.
The majority of industrial fishing vessels in the area were from France (53 per cent) followed by Spain (30 per cent) and the UK (9 per cent).
A giant limestone boulder is prepared before being dropped into the sea from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise in an area of the South West Deeps
The moment one of the boulders with Stephen Fry’s name on it (above) was thrown into the sea. However the majority of industrial fishing vessels in the area were from France (53 per cent) followed by Spain (30 per cent) and the UK (9 per cent)
Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK, said: ‘Greenpeace UK has created this underwater boulder barrier as a last resort to protect the oceans. We’d much rather the Government just did their job.
‘Our new Prime Minister must protect local fishing communities and immediately ban industrial fishing in Marine Protected Areas by tweaking commercial fishing licences.’
A spokesperson from the MMO said: ‘We are very disappointed that Greenpeace has chosen to take this action to drop boulders to form a barrier as we don’t believe it is justified or will help protect our marine environment.
‘It is also a requirement under the Marine and Coastal Access Act that any deposit of construction below high water is required to have a Marine Licence. Greenpeace do not hold, nor have they applied for one, and as such their activity is potentially illegal.
‘As unlicensed activity has now taken place, MMO has launched a formal investigation in accordance with its regulatory function around marine licensing enforcement and is gathering evidence before considering its next response.’
Barry Deas, CEO of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said that ‘boulders of that size represent a threat to the crews and the vessels that fish the area’, adding that they could be ‘a potential threat to life’.
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