Commitment 1 – Ban bottom trawling in all marine protected areas by 2030 starting from National Marine Parks by 2026.

Prohibiting bottom trawling within marine protected areas is a key tool for the protection of marine biodiversity, as the bottom towed fishing gear used in this fishing type destroys important seabed ecosystems, such as Posidonia meadows. These ecosystems are important fish spawning and breeding grounds, and also make an important contribution to mitigating the climate crisis by absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide, and to climate adaptation by acting as a buffer to protect coasts from erosion.  The phasing-out of bottom trawling within marine protected areas in Greece will provide multiple benefits for the recovery of fish stocks and thus enhance fisheries sustainability and food security, ecosystem conservation, and climate mitigation and adaptation.

This measure is also prioritised by the EU Αction Plan on ‘protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries’ as an action for the reduction of fishing on the seabed. With this Plan, the Commission calls on member states, including Greece, to develop national measures for the gradual phasing-out of mobile bottom fishing in marine Natura 2000 areas by 2024 and in all marine protected areas by 2030, while securing a fair and just transition for fishing communities which will be affected by this measure and making use of relevant EU funds for this purpose.