Protecting our Oceans

Published 2.10.20

Supertrawlers (giant industrial fishing vessels over 100m, most of which are not UK owned) are right now pillaging our waters, not only decimating our marine life but also crushing our local fishing and coastal communities.    Our current laws don’t even stop these monster ships gobbling up fish in our ocean sanctuaries – making a mockery of the concept of protected waters.  A Greenpeace investigation unveiled that last year supertrawlers spent the equivalent of 123 days continuously fishing in our ocean sanctuaries.

Greenpeace have set a global goal to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. Right here in the UK, they are campaigning to ban supertrawlers and establish a network of highly protected ocean sanctuaries, off limits to all destructive activity, across at least 30% of UK waters.

Now, more than ever in the midst of a global recession, we must stand with our local fishing communities by banning these monster ships and ensuring that protection on paper translates to real world protection.   We must hold our leaders to account – ensuring their rhetoric as ocean leaders on the global stage is matched by action at home.

We have the POWER is proud to be supporting this vital campaign as Greenpeace sets sail with their ship MV Esperanza to document vulnerable marine life in our broken network of ocean sanctuaries, expose illegal activity and actively defend it from destructive fishing.