Greenpeace Drops Boulders in North Sea to Block Bottom Trawling in Protected Area

Greenpeace activists have deployed an underwater boulder barrier in the Southern North Sea marine protected area (MPA), the UK’s most heavily bottom-trawled MPA, to obstruct industrial fishing nets. The action, carried out from the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, aims to stop destructive bottom trawling that damages seabed habitats and threatens harbour porpoise populations. The MPA was designated to safeguard these marine mammals, yet it continues to face intense fishing pressure. Greenpeace says the boulders will snag dragnets, effectively creating a no-go zone for trawlers. The move escalates a long-running campaign for stronger protections in UK waters, highlighting the gap between conservation designations and enforcement. The group calls on the government to ban bottom trawling in all offshore MPAs. With marine biodiversity in decline, such direct actions underscore the urgent need for policy change to protect vulnerable ocean ecosystems.