Attenborough film shows seabed ‘devastation’ says MP in bottom trawling ban call

A Labour MP has pressed ministers to say whether they will ban bottom trawling before climate leaders meet in France next month, after Sir David Attenborough warned the fishing practice was among the most “wasteful”.

Sir David’s new film Ocean features detailed footage, thought to be the first of its kind, of bottom trawling along the seabed.

The camera follows large nets which are dragged along the ocean floor using a metal beam, with sea creatures indiscriminately caught inside before they are brought to the surface.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion told MPs that “David Attenborough’s latest film Ocean revealed the shocking devastation caused by bottom trawling” and referred to calls from environmental campaigners to “take action at the UN conference in just four weeks”.

At Foreign Office questions, Ms Champion asked: “Will the Government use the conference to announce a ban on all bottom trawling in marine protected areas?

“And why has the minister still not set out when we will ratify the ocean treaty which will keep our Sids (small island developing states) and overseas territories safe?”

Minister Catherine West replied: “The climate and ocean adaptation sustainable transition (Coast) programme is improving vulnerable coastal communities’ resilience to climate change including protecting and restoring coastal habitats, supporting nature-based solutions and improving small-scale fisheries management, and including the issue which she raises – the use of bottom-towed gear over rock and reef habitats in 13 Marine Management Organisation areas.”

Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director Will McCallum, Oceana UK executive director Hugo Tagholm and Blue Marine Foundation chief executive Clare Brook have previously written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty – also known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement – to conserve the high seas and help protect 30% of the world’s oceans.

They have also called for a full ban on bottom trawling, which they said would help marine ecosystems in UK domestic waters “recover” from the practice’s “devastating impact”.

It comes ahead of the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in June, which is being held in Nice on the Mediterranean coast.

Commons foreign affairs committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, later told the Commons: “I know there’s a lot going on, but the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty is important.

“It’s about our blue planet. It’s about our oceans.

“It used to be that we had a leadership position in it. In fact, when we were leading it, 115 countries signed that treaty, but it needs to be ratified as well, and very few countries are ratifying it including Britain.

“And when we ask the Government about it, the Government says it’s because they haven’t got enough time. Have they dropped the ball?

“Is there a Bill? Are we going to ratify it, and will we ratify it before the UN Ocean Conference?”

Ms West replied: “We will redouble our efforts to get into the legislative queue and do all (that’s) necessary to ensure and maintain our leadership on this important area.”

In his documentary, Sir David said the bottom trawling net moves along the seabed “destroying nearly everything in its path”, even if it is not wanted on the surface.

“It’s hard to imagine a more wasteful way to catch fish,” the 99-year-old said.