Greenpeace deploys boulders to block trawling in sea protected for porpoises
Celebrities have added their names to the boulders which aim to protect the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area.
Environmentalists say they have deployed boulders weighing up to two tonnes each to prevent destructive fishing in an area of the sea created to protect porpoises.
It is the latest action by Greenpeace to prevent “bottom trawling” – a method of fishing in which gear is dragged across the seabed to scoop up fish – in the UK’s seas by dropping boulders to create an underwater barrier to the nets.
The environmental group deployed the boulders, to which celebrities Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch have added their names, over the weekend in the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area, which was designated to protect harbour porpoises.
Analysis shows that in 2025, bottom trawlers logged more than 37,000 fishing hours in the protected zone – far more than in any other offshore marine protected area, Greenpeace said.
The campaigners warned that bottom trawling destroyed delicate seafloor habitats, depleted key fish stocks the porpoises rely on and disrupted their ability to hunt as a result of intense noise.
They claim to have effectively closed 116 square kilometres (44 square miles) of the marine protected area to bottom trawling in what they have declared as an “ocean park”.
And Greenpeace vessel the Arctic Sunrise will patrol the area to deter other types of destructive fishing over the coming days, the group said.
The latest deployment of boulders by Greenpeace – which has previously taken the same direct action in other parts of the UK seas – comes as Blue Planet III premiered on the BBC on Sunday.
Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Blue Planet III powerfully shows us the majesty of our ocean – as well as the very grave threats it faces.
“Imagine a bulldozer tearing through a treasured national park like Dartmoor or the Peak District.
“Out of sight, destruction on that scale is happening near our own shores in places we’re told are ‘Marine Protected Areas’.
“Hulking great ships prowl the sea day after day, stripping it of fish and killing precious wildlife like porpoises, sharks and seabirds.”
He said Greenpeace had announced in June it would take action if the Government did not protect the seas – and nothing had happened since then.
“Now we’re setting a bold challenge to ministers: ban destructive fishing across all our protected waters at home, and lead the charge for a network of global ocean sanctuaries right across the Atlantic,” he said.
Labour MP and former climate minister Kerry McCarthy, who also signed one of the boulders, said: “Industrialised fishing is having a hugely destructive impact on our marine environment, yet less than 1% of our seas are protected from it.
“They can legally tear through supposedly protected areas of the ocean, wreaking havoc upon the seabed, precious habitats and the sea life that lives there.”
She called for a ban on bottom trawling and properly protected ocean sanctuaries in UK waters and across the Atlantic Ocean.