NGOs take French government to court over destructive fishing practice

The French government is being taken to court to end destructive fishing practices in marine protected areas.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and Défense des Milieux Aquatiques (DMA) have launched legal action against France for not banning bottom trawling in Natura 2000 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

The NGOs are taking the case to the country’s highest court – the Conseil d’Etat – over what they say is the government’s failure to comply with its obligation to protect the marine environment from damage caused by this destructive fishing practice.

“Bottom trawling is at odds with biodiversity conservation and France’s legal commitments to protecting MPAs,” says Raphaelle Jeannel, senior lawyer at Huglo Lepage Avocats, the legal firm heading up the action.

“Today the preservation of marine biodiversity is a matter of law and the State must ensure it is effectively enforced.”

What is bottom trawling and where is it already banned?

Bottom trawling is a destructive fishing method which involves dragging weighted nets across the sea floor. It can kill animals and plants, disrupt seabed ecosystems and release carbon from disrupted sediment.

Several EU member states have already launched plans to phase it out. Greece was the first to announce a ban on bottom trawling in all of its MPAs by 2030 and its three national marine parks by 2026.

In January, Sweden also proposed a ban on bottom trawling in the country’s marine protected areas

Then earlier this month, Denmark announced plans to ban bottom trawling in 17,977 square kilometres of its waters to improve declining marine conditions. The proposal would expand the total area where bottom trawling is banned to 22,841 square kilometres.

“We are initiating this legal action because, even though the Natura 2000 network covers 35 per cent of France’s maritime territory, 90 per cent of the species and habitats it protects remain under threat, making these MPAs nothing more than lines on a map,” says Marie Colombier, senior ocean campaigner at EJF.

“It’s high time the responsible authorities in France act to protect France’s invaluable marine biodiversity hotspots. How else can France lead global action for our blue planet and credibly host the upcoming UN Ocean Conference in Nice?”

Mathilde Ollivier, a senator for French citizens living outside of France, is also supporting the legal action. She says France is “failing to live up to its ambitions” for marine conservation.

Legal action focuses on two of France’s protected areas

The case focuses on two MPAs – Bancs des Flandres and Chausey – both located in the English Channel.

These Natura 2000 Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) are designated due to their unique sandbanks and maerl beds (a type of algae that grows on the sea floor) which act as crucial nurseries for marine life.

Open-source satellite data shows that an average of 83 vessels using bottom trawl or demersal seine (another destructive fishing practice) gear operated annually within Bancs des Flandres between 2022 and 2024, according to the NGOs. Collectively they say these vessels logged more than 6,800 hours of fishing a year.

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Similarly, the Chausey site has seen an average of 13 bottom trawlers a year and almost 4,000 hours of fishing.

Those behind the case say this has been done without any environmental impact assessment – despite the risk of severe damage to protected habitats.

Though it focuses on these two MPAs, EJF and DMA say the aim is to highlight a wider failure by the French government to enforce protections across French waters.

The NGOs allege that in France this destructive practice is still carried out in 77 per cent of marine Natura 2000 sites, in violation of national and EU environmental law. They claim that over the last five years, approximately 200,000 hours of trawling were recorded every year in French MPAs.

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The impact of bottom trawling goes beyond just damage to vital ecosystems too. Philippe Garcia, president of DMA, says that proper enforcement of existing regulations could also revitalise small-scale coastal fishing that uses low-impact, sustainable practices.

“Current policies prioritise short-term profits and overexploitation, leaving ecosystems degraded and fishermen without a clear path forward. Sustainable fisheries depend on healthy marine ecosystems, and without effective action, the sector’s future remains at risk.”

Last week, fishermen joined NGOs in calling for urgent action on bottom trawling in MPAs through open letters to French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis.