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Alexandra Cousteau is calling out the French government for what she refers to as political inaction … More on bottom trawling<\/p>\n
Oceana<\/p>\n
In a powerful condemnation of what she calls \u201cpolitical inaction,\u201d ocean advocate Alexandra Cousteau\u2014 granddaughter of legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau\u2014 has joined forces with Oceana to shine a light on France\u2019s failure to curb one of the most destructive forms of industrial fishing\u2014 bottom trawling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ocean is my life\u2019s work\u2014 it\u2019s in my blood,\u201d says Cousteau. \u201cMy grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau helped the world fall in love with the sea, and I\u2019ve dedicated my life to building on that legacy. It\u2019s not just about protecting what remains but also restoring what has been lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bottom trawling is a destructive fishing method that involves dragging massive, weighted nets across the seafloor, unselectively scooping up marine life.<\/p>\n
Despite France positioning itself as a steward of marine protection and preparing to host the third United Nations Ocean Conference from June 9\u201313, a new Oceana report<\/a> reveals that bottom trawling continues unabated in 42% of France\u2019s marine protected areas (MPAs) in European waters, including some of the nation\u2019s most prized Marine Nature Parks. This controversial practice\u2014 likened to razing a forest just to catch a few birds\u2014 tears up fragile seafloor habitats, indiscriminately kills marine organisms, releases carbon stored in ocean sediment, and undermines the very ecosystems these protections were designed to defend.<\/p>\n \u201cPolitical inaction has allowed destructive activities to continue in places that should be off-limits,\u201d says Cousteau. \u201cThis is the time for President Macron to lead by example and end bottom trawling in France\u2019s marine protected areas.\u201d<\/p>\n At the 2022<\/a> UN Biodiversity Conference, over 190 countries pledged to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 to safeguard marine biodiversity, restore fish populations, and boost climate resilience. France, long seen as a champion of ocean conservation, claims it has already met the 30×30 target by designating 30% of its waters as protected.<\/p>\n A trawl net is hauled up and the fish are poured into the bin for sorting aboard a Boulogne-sur-Mer … More based trawler after a fishing campaign off the coast of northern France (Photo by Sylvain Lefevre\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Getty Images<\/p>\n But according to the ocean advocacy group, the reality tells a different story. Despite possessing the world\u2019s second largest Exclusive Economic Zone, France has placed just 0.03% of its marine protected areas under full protection from extractive activities.<\/p>\n Using satellite tracking data from Global Fishing Watch, Oceana found that roughly 70% of trawlers operating within these so-called protected zones fly the French flag. Among them are vessels using \u201cbeam trawls\u201d\u2014 massive nets held open by steel beams and dragged across the seafloor\u2014 infamous for causing some of the most severe damage to vulnerable marine habitats.<\/p>\n One of the marine national parks in the study, the Picardy Estuaries and Opal Sea, saw nearly 60 trawlers log close to 7,500 hours of fishing in 2024. Most were French-flagged, including small boats targeting shrimp and scallops, while 21 were large industrial vessels using heavy beam trawls to scrape the seafloor for flatfish.<\/p>\n Cousteau has seen the impacts firsthand. \u201cThroughout my life, I\u2019ve traveled the globe exploring the oceans and I\u2019ve seen firsthand what\u2019s at stake\u2026 To see destruction happening in places that are meant to be safe havens is heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n The Oceana report highlights that healthy coastal ecosystems are essential not only for food security and local livelihoods but also for climate resilience. They buffer communities from rising seas and act as powerful carbon sinks\u2014 oceans have absorbed 20 to 30% of all human-generated CO\u2082 since the 1980s, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Yet bottom trawling threatens this critical role, disturbing sediments and releasing an estimated 0.58 to 1.47 billion metric tons<\/a> of carbon dioxide into the water each year, weakening one of the planet\u2019s most vital climate defenses.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ocean floor stores an enormous amount of carbon, and when trawlers pass through, they churn up the seafloor, remobilizing that carbon,\u201d says Cousteau. \u201cSo while the ocean has helped us reduce the worst impacts of climate change, this extremely destructive activity could imperil the ocean\u2019s ability to absorb even more carbon dioxide in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Cousteau refers to Oceana\u2019s findings as \u201cdeeply troubling,\u201d pointing to data showing that in France\u2019s Marine Nature Parks\u2014 some of the country\u2019s most iconic marine protected areas\u2014 more than 100 bottom trawlers collectively spent over 17,000 hours fishing.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s like one boat trawling non-stop for nearly two years straight,\u201d she says. \u201cThese are supposed to be sanctuaries for marine life and important ocean ecosystems, but instead these fragile habitats are being bulldozed, wildlife is being decimated, and the very idea of protection turns out to be mere lines on a map.\u201d<\/p>\n Cousteau emphasizes that the problem isn\u2019t isolated to France. The problem is widespread across Europe, where EU waters are the most heavily trawled in the world, with 92% of discarded fish linked to the practice, according to WWF.<\/p>\n A 2025 analysis<\/a> found bottom trawling occurs in 77% of France\u2019s protected marine areas, 85% in Germany, and 44% in Italy, totaling over 1.7 million hours annually. A recent study<\/a> estimates the economic toll to the EU could reach \u20ac10.8 billion a year, mainly from carbon released by disturbed seafloor sediments.<\/p>\n Crab Fishing Trawler in German North Sea<\/p>\n getty<\/p>\n \u201cAllowing bottom trawling in marine protected areas makes a mockery of the very concept of protection,\u201d Cousteau states.<\/p>\n In May, Oceana and a coalition of groups\u2014 including Patagonia, WeMove Europe, ClientEarth, Bloom Association, and Protect Our Catch\u2014 delivered a petition<\/a> with over 250,000 signatures to EU Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, urging a ban on bottom trawling in marine protected areas. The move highlights rising public concern, with polls showing 82% of Europeans support tougher rules and 73% favor a total ban in MPAs\u2014 putting growing pressure on EU decision-makers to act.<\/p>\n