An alliance of eleven environmental organizations has officially formed to challenge EU member states over the persistence of destructive fishing practices within the bloc’s marine protected areas. While these zones are designated to safeguard sea life, the coalition argues that current regulations are frequently ignored in practice, leading to significant ecological damage. The group, which includes ClientEarth, Oceana, Seas At Risk, the Blue Marine Foundation, and Germany’s BUND, aims to pressure the European Commission into launching infringement proceedings against non-compliant national governments.
In a statement issued on Monday, 6 July, the coalition emphasized that its strategy involves linking national legal actions into a unified European effort to ensure accountability. The campaigners contend that the EU already possesses some of the world’s most stringent nature laws, yet enforcement remains lax. Bottom trawling, a practice involving heavy nets dragged across the seabed, continues to be permitted in numerous Natura 2000 sites. Approximately 79 percent of the coastal seabed is physically disturbed by such activities, according to data from the European Commission.
A year ago, members of this alliance filed formal complaints against Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain for allowing bottom trawling in protected sites. To date, the Commission has not taken action on these complaints. The coalition is now framing its argument around the current political climate in Brussels, which prioritizes the reduction of red tape. They argue that a blanket ban on bottom trawling in all protected areas would provide a clear, simplified rule for fishers, thereby lowering monitoring and enforcement costs.
The group expressed concern that the ongoing evaluation of the Birds and Habitats Directives could potentially weaken existing environmental protections. However, they pointed to recent legal victories in France and the Netherlands as evidence that litigation is an effective tool for change. For instance, a Dutch court recently ruled against unauthorized trawling in the Dogger Bank, an ecologically vital sandbank known as the nursery of the North Sea. The coalition stated that all eyes are now on EU policymakers to heed such judicial outcomes.
The EU has committed to protecting at least 30 percent of its seas by 2030 under its biodiversity strategy and the Kunming-Montreal framework. Despite these goals, the European Environment Agency has reported that 93 percent of Europe’s marine ecosystems suffer from various human-induced pressures. Moving forward, the green coalition intends to focus on advancing pending legal cases and fostering collaboration between scientists, lawyers, and civil society groups to initiate further legal challenges across the bloc.
