“Actions Not Promises” Says NGOs After EU Allegedly “Failed to Protect the Seas”

NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) have allied with each other to pressure the EU (European Union) to call for an immediate ban on the destructive fishing method called bottom trawling. Bottom trawling continuously destroys marine areas "protected" by the EU. The coalition calls out the union for its failure to protect the waters.

To show that the NGOs are serious in pursuing their goal to protect marine ecosystems, the ban was just a part of the 10-point action plan intended to "raise the bar" in achieving biodiversity goals. They claim that such goals will never be met by the current status quo. All promises and no actions, they said.

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Empty Promises

(Photo : Hennie Stander on Unsplash)
Behind the scenes of the fish trade, somewhere along the Irish coast.

According to the various environmental NGOs involved, the EU has continuously been providing them with promises. But, most of the time, they remain just that, promises.

Among these promises is a raft of EU laws created with goals to safeguard marine life. It made several legislations that aims to achieve "good environmental status" in the oceans by 2020, create healthy ecosystems, and introduce sustainable aquatic and fisheries management.  Many of those, however, were not, and some doubt that it will ever be enforced.

This astronomical failure and the already existing problems on Europe's oceans, like climate change and pollution, can result in irreversible possibilities. The effects can cause serious ecological consequences that the entire planet may possibly suffer.

Call for Action

The call was initially published to respond to a European parliament draft report on the EU's strategy for biodiversity for 2030. That draft report, which will be presented to the environment committee on Thursday, expresses intense regret that the EU has not met the 2020 biodiversity strategy's objectives.

While the NGOs welcomed the draft report, they said it does not go far enough to ensure enforcement of current EU laws or to set action plans to reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

According to Rebecca Hubbard, program director of Our Fish, which aims to end overfishing, said:

"The EU has failed to achieve good environmental status for EU seas and the EU biodiversity strategy must be implemented if we are to have a chance of saving it - this implementation needs to include the 10 action points we have in our report."

Aside from the lack of a ban on bottom trawling, the EU has also failed to protect marine habitats from overfishing. Overfishing has been labeled as one of the most destructive fishing practices. Not only does it create a severe imbalance in the natural system, but it also harshens the water conditions.

Nicolas Fournier, the campaign director for marine protection at Oceana Europe, said:

"The EU 2030 biodiversity strategy is strong on marine protection targets, but we want the European parliament to raise further the EU's ambition on biodiversity, both internationally to champion the 30% of ocean protection and support the UN treaty for the high-seas, but also in Europe to call for a ban of all destructive fishing gear inside marine protected areas, starting with bottom-trawling."

Promises give hopes, but action is the only way to achieve goals. The pressure that the NGO coalition is putting on the EU is meant to hasten the union's enforcement of the programs to benefit the environment.

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