Blue Marine Film Exposes UK Bottom Trawling Impact

On World Oceans Day, the Blue Marine Foundation launched a striking campaign featuring a darkly satirical film, The Bottom Line, starring actors Theo James and Stephen Fry to expose the devastating effects of bottom trawling in UK marine protected areas (MPAs). The film highlights how this industrial fishing method, which drags heavy nets across the seabed, indiscriminately kills marine life and destroys fragile habitats, even within areas designated for protection. Research reveals that 74% of England’s inshore MPAs and 92% of Scotland’s still permit bottom trawling, undermining their conservation goals. In the film, James's character experiences a grotesque dinner where dead bycatch crashes onto his table, while Fry’s character delivers a monologue about the environmental cost of such fishing practices. Both actors and the Blue Marine Foundation call for an immediate ban on bottom trawling in all UK MPAs, emphasizing the moral imperative to protect these ecological wildernesses. The campaign aims to influence policy ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference, underscoring the urgent need for stronger protections of marine environments.