During a debate in the Welsh Parliament yesterday (9 July), both Welsh Conservative and Welsh Labour members of the Senedd spoke in support of the proposal to prohibit bottom trawling in Welsh Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Bottom trawling is a collective term for a group of fishing techniques which drag heavy nets across the seafloor. The different types of bottom trawling can be defined by their modifications as some have metal teeth that penetrate the seabed or metal beams which keep the net open. The types of bottom trawling gear include, but are not limited to, beam trawls, otter trawls, pair trawls, fly seines and dredges.
Up to 80% of the fish indiscriminately caught in the nets of trawlers are discarded or destroyed.
There are 139 Welsh MPAs but bottom trawling has only been prohibited by the Welsh Government in 1: Skomer Marine Conservation Zone.
Commenting after brining the debate before the Senedd, Janet Finch-Saunders MS, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and the Environment said:
“As Sir David Attenborough stated, with over three quarters of a trawler’s catch being thrown away, it’s hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish.
“The Welsh fishery is predominantly an inshore fishery. The highest intensities of bottom trawling in Wales are occurring in offshore sites by vessels from other nations. Fishing data shows that there are Irish, some Cornish and EU boats all trawling in both near and offshore areas of Wales, creating damage.
“Where prohibitions exists the results are positive. For example, in Lyme Bay in southwest England the ban on bottom trawling has led to commercially caught fish species inside the MPA increasing in abundance by 370%, and the richness of the species mix increasing by 430%. So both the environment and fishers could be better off.
“As I have repeatedly stated in the Senedd, marine habitats such as subtidal mud can capture and store large amounts of carbon. The prohibition would unquestionably benefit carbon capture.
“Whilst it is very disappointing that the Welsh Government is not prepared to take immediate action to stop bottom trawling in any extra MPA, thankfully there are a few of us in the siambr, cross-party, who like Sir Attenborough, make a big splash and bring marine policy to the fore time and again. We are like waves. We will not stop.”
ENDS
