'Research published in Nature and Frontiers estimated that bottom trawling releases around 1 gigaton of carbon dioxide annually'

Environmental Activists Demand Immediate Ban on Bottom Trawling in EU Waters

EUROPEAN UNION
Thursday, October 16, 2025, 00:10 (GMT + 9)

Ocean Rebellion Unfurls 150-Metre 'Net' in Brussels, Highlighting €1.3 Billion in Subsidies and Massive Carbon Footprint

BRUSSELS – To mark the beginning of Ocean Week in Europe, concerned citizens and activists from the organization Ocean Rebellion staged a dramatic protest at the EU Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday, demanding an immediate end to bottom trawling by the industrial fishing fleet.

The centerpiece of the demonstration was 'The Net,' the world’s largest screen print of a bottom trawling net. At midday, activists unfurled the massive artwork across the esplanade of the Parliament. The net, which is 150 metres wide—representing the destructive breadth of the fishing gear—was emblazoned with messages like "DON’T TOUCH MY BOTTOM" and "BOTTOM TRAWLING IS KILLING US."

"Imagine how much damage a net as big as ten jumbo jets causes as it drags across the seabed," said Michael Collins from Ocean Rebellion. "It catches everything in its path, destroys marine life, and releases the 'blue' carbon stored there. Bottom trawling emits more greenhouse gases than global aviation."

Destroying the Seabed and Undermining Climate Goals

Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy, weighted nets across the seabed, destroying sensitive ecosystems like coral and seaweed beds. The practice is highly unselective, resulting in catastrophic levels of bycatch.

Activists highlighted alarming data regarding discards. According to the group, bottom trawling accounts for 93% of all fish discards in the EU, with countless non-target species—including sea turtles, dolphins, and sharks—needlessly slaughtered and thrown overboard.

Furthermore, recent scientific studies have drawn attention to the climate disaster caused by the practice. Research published in Nature and Frontiers in Marine Science estimated that bottom trawling releases around 1 gigaton (1 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide annually, a figure comparable to the emissions of the global aviation industry. This carbon is released when the heavy gear disturbs millennia-old sediments on the ocean floor, the world's largest carbon storehouse.

The Subsidy Paradox

The protest also focused on the controversial use of public money to fund the destructive practice. Ocean Rebellion stated that bottom trawling is often not profitable without significant government assistance.

"The mad thing is that without subsidies, explicit and implicit, bottom trawling wouldn't even be profitable," the organization noted. Reports indicate that European governments spend an estimated €1.3 billion a year subsidizing this sector.

Activists argue that this taxpayer-funded support is actively damaging the environment and neglecting the interests of small-scale fishers. "If the same subsidies and support were given to small-scale fishers, the EU would help both its coastal waters and its coastal communities to flourish," an activist stated.

Fishing in Marine Protected Areas

A core demand of the protest stems from the continued authorization of bottom trawling within designated Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Data suggests that a significant portion of EU MPAs are still subjected to this destructive fishing method.

Bridget Turgoose, also from Ocean Rebellion, condemned the lack of enforcement: "Bottom trawling happens systematically in marine protected areas all across the EU. This means countless sea turtles, dolphins, sharks and smaller fish suffocated by the greed of EU industrial fisheries."

Louis Dannatt emphasized the social justice angle, noting that over 100 million people globally rely on inshore subsistence and small-scale artisanal fishing, often using the same waters emptied by EU trawlers.

Ocean Rebellion demands a clear commitment from EU institutions to ban bottom trawling across the entire EU fishing fleet and immediately enforce protections within all MPAs, initiating a "just transition for displaced fisheries workers."

"The Ocean can recover quickly, but only if we halt the carnage now; within a few years these precious ecosystems will regenerate and fish populations will stabilize. We just need to give life a chance, if we don’t, there will be no more fish in the sea," Turgoose concluded.

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