Sweden to ban bottom fishing in territorial waters

Sweden is set to become the second EU country to ban bottom fishing in marine protected areas, going a step further than Greece’s April decision by banning it in all territorial waters.

Bottom trawling, a practice criticised by NGOs for impacting ecosystems, involves dragging heavy nets over the seabed, damaging ecosystems and releasing carbon into the oceans.

At a press conference, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and his ministers announced the government’s intention to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas (MPAs) and all Swedish territorial waters (up to 12 nautical miles).

“For decades, the Liberals have been fighting to stop the large trawlers destroying our seas and our fish stocks […] From now on, sturgeon, herring and even cod can play along our coasts without being hindered by industrial trawlers,” Swedish Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari wrote on X on Tuesday 4 June, after jumping into the Baltic Sea to celebrate the government’s new bill.

Although the European Commission called on Member States to phase out this practice by 2030 in marine protected areas in 2023, the Oceana Association recently said it was still widespread in 90% of them.

On 16 April, Greece became the first EU country to ban bottom fishing at the ‘Our Ocean’ world conference, initially in national marine parks ‘by 2026’ and then ‘in all marine protected areas by 2030’.

Sweden is one of Europe’s major fishing powers, with 127 trawlers engaged in bottom fishing in 11% of the country’s 2,179 marine protected areas, according to a report by the French NGO Bloom.

‘We can only hope that the stocks will manage to recover’, added Pourmokhtari, who also explained that she was working ‘through consultations with the Commission and the member states’ to generalise these measures across the EU.

‘The tide is turning, and European leaders must join the movement to restore marine life, low-impact fisheries and coastal communities’, said the Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition on X.

Contacted by Euractiv, the European Bottom Fisheries Alliance (EBFA), which represents the European fishing industry, deplored the ban on these ‘perfectly regulated’ practices. The organisation also points out that the Council, supported by Greece and Sweden, had rejected the European Commission’s guidelines on ending bottom fishing.

“EBFA calls for an EU environmental protection strategy that prioritizes innovation and sustainable practices over the outright elimination of responsibly managed fishing activities”, adds EBFA.

Greece becomes first EU country to ban bottom fishing in marine protected areas

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday (16 April) a ban on bottom trawling in the country’s marine protected areas (MPAs), the first such fishing ban in Europe.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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