Greenpeace drops boulders in North Sea to block bottom trawling in porpoise sanctuary
Activists deploy two-tonne stones signed by celebrities and MPs to physically prevent industrial fishing in a marine protected area.
What to know
- Greenpeace activists deployed up to two-tonne boulders in the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area to block bottom trawling, an industrial fishing method that scours the seabed and threatens porpoise populations.
- Analysis reveals bottom trawlers spent over 37,000 hours fishing in the protected zone in 2025 alone—more than in any other UK offshore MPA—despite the area being designated to protect harbour porpoises.
- The boulder barrier effectively closed 116 square kilometres (45 square miles) to bottom trawling; Greenpeace declares it an 'ocean park' and will patrol the area to deter other destructive fishing.
- Labour MP Kerry McCarthy and actors Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch backed the campaign, calling for a government ban on bottom trawling across all UK protected waters.
“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.”
Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP and former climate minister · Guardian ↗
Greenpeace UK Environmental campaign organizationWill McCallum Co-executive director, Greenpeace UKKerry McCarthy Labour MP and former climate minister
Simon Pegg ActorBenedict Cumberbatch Actor
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts
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Kerry McCarthy and celebrities back boulder campaign
Labour MP Kerry McCarthy, a former climate minister, added her name to one of the boulders and called for a ban on bottom trawling. Actors Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch also signed boulders as part of the protest.
“Industrialised fishing is having a hugely destructive impact on our marine environment, yet less than 1% of our seas are protected from it.”
— Kerry McCarthy -
first by Evening Standard, 6d ago
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Hell yeah! Love this action. Greenpeace has dropped nine boulders off the east coast of England to create a barrier that disrupts bottom trawling by fishing vessels. https://www. bbc.com/news/articles/c3j47k8r rkr5o
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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Yeeyh # Greenpeace ! https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/nov/02/greenpeace-boulder-barrier-north-sea-industrial-fishing-bottom-trawling-marine-protected-area
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Analysis reveals intensive bottom trawling in protected waters
Greenpeace's analysis shows bottom trawlers logged more than 37,200 fishing hours in the Southern North Sea MPA in 2025 alone—far more than any other UK offshore MPA. Across all UK MPAs, trawlers and dredgers churned up 55,600 square kilometres of seabed in 2025, equivalent to almost the size of Croatia.
“Hulking great ships prowl the sea day after day, stripping it of fish and killing precious wildlife like porpoises, sharks and seabirds.”
— Will McCallum, Co-executive director, Greenpeace UK · source -
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Greenpeace deploys boulder barrier in Southern North Sea MPA
Activists aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise dropped giant boulders onto the seabed to form an underwater barrier in the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area, effectively closing 116 square kilometres to bottom trawling. The boulders were signed by MPs, actors, and other prominent figures.
“Destruction on a huge scale is happening near our shores out of sight, in places we're told are 'Marine Protected Areas'.”
— Will McCallum -
6 outlets first by The Guardian, 6d ago · also Greenpeace UK, Sky News, Times of India, Guardian, Guardian Environment · read ↗
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PRESS RELEASE: Activists aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise have placed giant boulders to block bottom trawling across 116 km² of the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area. The UK government must ban destructive fishing in ALL protected waters. # ProtectTheOceans # trawling # overfishing # oceans # marinelife
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