The law will come into force in national parks within two years and in all of the country’s marine protected areas by 2030
Greece has become the first country in Europeto announce a ban on bottom trawling in all of its national marine parks and protected areas.
The country said will spend €780m (£666m) to protect its “diverse and unique marine ecosystems”.
The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, told delegates at the Our Ocean conference in Athens on Tuesday: “We’ve established two additional marine national parks, one in the Ionian and one in the Aegean, increasing the size of our marine protected areas by 80% and covering one third of our marine territorial waters.
“We will ban bottom trawling in our national parks by 2026 and in all marine protected areas by 2030.”
He said he would also establish a state-of-the-art surveillance system, including drones, to enforce the ban.
What was the definition of a marine park and protected area in Greece before this step?
“The creation of the new marine parks, one in the Ionian Sea and one in the Aegean Sea, will increase the size of Greece’s marine protected areas by 80% and will cover 30% of the country’s territorial waters, Mitsotakis said.”
For those unfamiliar with the region: ‘bottom trawling’ is local slang for pulling up your swimwear to the point the bottom part of the cheeks falls out (hence the ‘trawling’)
Weird that they’re banning it now
If you actually read the article…
Bottom trawling by industrial vessels is a hugely damaging fishing technique that drags heavy nets across the seabed, destroying habitats and releasing carbon into the sea and the atmosphere.
Ok
Good on them that they clarified this, because this title is going to confuse a lot of people
The country said will spend €780m (£666m) to protect its “diverse and unique marine ecosystems”.
It might become that again with steps like this, but nowhere in the Mediterranean can make that claim anymore. It’s been overfished for eons, and the sea is lifeless in large parts.
Beautiful at the surface and devestation underneath.
While not exactly wrong, Greece has a lot of marine life and even exotic animals like giant turtles, seals and the occasional whale. This isnt a well known fact because these animals are endangered and are protected. I think there were issues with too many tourists trying to check the turtles and/or using beaches. Some beaches are protected and dedicated for turtle use only but people are allowed in most beaches. I am sure the turtles loved covid, they could chill and bury their eggs in peace, wherever they wanted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggerhead_sea_turtle
Greece is the most popular nesting site along the Mediterranean, with more than 3,000 nests per year. Zakynthos hosts the largest Mediterranean nesting with the second one being in Kyparissia Bay. Because of this, Greek authorities do not allow planes to take off or land at night in Zakynthos due to the nesting turtles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monk_seal
Its current very sparse population is one more serious threat to the species, as it only has two key sites that can be deemed viable. One is the Aegean Sea (250–300 animals in Greece, with the largest concentration of animals on Gyaros, and some 100 in Turkey); the other important subpopulation is the Western Saharan portion of Cabo Blanco (around 200 individuals which may support the small, but growing, nucleus in the Desertas Islands – roughly 20 individuals)
And of course the sea is full of dolphins and less exotic sea life.
Hasn’t the UK already done this? The French are currently protesting against it.
Wait - weirdly it’s the same journalist who wrote both articles. How did she manage to write an article two days ago about a UK ban, and then write again yesterday about Greece being the first European country to do this?
Perhaps because the UK is no longer part of the European Union. Technicalities.
Greece has become the first country in Europe to announce a ban on bottom trawling in all of its national marine parks and protected areas.
It doesn’t say EU, it says Europe. The Guardian is a British newspaper, they know the difference.
Brexit meant Britain left the EU, it didn’t literally move Britain to a different continent.
I agree with you, just saying that the journalist might have used that line of thought to make their headline catchier.
Bottoms got topped again! rawr~
A wave of dispair washes over the tops of Greece
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Greece has become the first country in Europe to announce a ban on bottom trawling in all of its national marine parks and protected areas.
However, the Athens government’s decision to go ahead with two new marine parks in the Aegean and Ionian has stirred up tensions with its historical rival Turkey.
Ankara’s foreign ministry warned Greece last week that the proposal in the Aegean lay in a disputed area and that the initiative was “politically motivated”.
Nicholas Fournier, the campaign director for marine protection at the international conservation group Oceana, said: “Everyone was expecting France or Germany or Spain to step up.
The country launched an official protest after the UK moved to ban bottom trawling from parts of its territorial waters to protect vulnerable marine habitats.
Bottom trawling by industrial vessels is a hugely damaging fishing technique that drags heavy nets across the seabed, destroying habitats and releasing carbon into the sea and the atmosphere.
The original article contains 600 words, the summary contains 157 words. Saved 74%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
