An analysis by scientists published on Monday follows a report from the European court of auditors done two years ago, which previously warned of the EU's failure to stop marine biodiversity loss and to restore fishing to sustainable levels in European waters. 

According to the scientists, the EU has left 99% of continental waters unprotected from bottom trawling, industrial-scale extraction, and other “high-impact activities” with only 1% set up as “true” marine protected areas (MPAs), and only 10.8% of the surface of Europe’s seas had been designated as MPAs in 2017. 

Published before a meeting in Brussels next week at which countries will agree on common points for December’s CoP15 global biodiversity conference, a declaration pressed member states to “raise the bar” of ocean conservation away from the “disastrous status quo," which read: “As of today, bottom trawling is conducted in 59% of the EU’s so-called ‘MPAs’, ironically depleting vulnerable species within their boundaries even faster than in nearby unprotected areas, as they stand, EU MPAs fail to provide conservation benefits.”

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Alexandra Cousteau, president of the foundation Oceans 2050 and the granddaughter of the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, and Enric Sala, explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society, were among the scientists who advocate for member states to ban bottom trawling and industrial fishing in all EU MPAs.

Bottom trawling is “the most destructive and fuel-intensive fishing practice," causing widespread destruction of marine life, the declaration said. Aside from disturbing carbon stored on the seafloor, adding to emissions and exacerbating global heating, the process of dragging large, weighted nets is so damaging as it sweeps up everything in its way, from fish to coral reefs. Last year, a study by Sala and others indicated that trawling the ocean floor released as much carbon dioxide as the entire aviation industry.

To aid in restoring marine security and life, the scientists suggested a transition to “low-impact fisheries” and the protection of 30% of the EU’s waters by 2030 – such as 10% for strictly “no-take zones”, a key mandate of the EU’s biodiversity strategy, which would eventually replenish depleted fisheries, and “resuscitate exhausted small-scale coastal fisheries” and the livelihoods they support. 

On account of this study and recent inaction toward the preservation of waters, the EU would be violating the Convention of Biological Diversity which it is a party to, specifically articles 8 and 9 for failing to promote both the conservation of marine wildlife and the methods to doing so, not to mention the violation of its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which it is also a party to.