# Greenpeace lays seabed boulders to deter trawling in North Sea protected zone

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/greenpeace-activists-create-boulder-barrier-in-north-sea-to-deter-industrial-fishing/
- Published: 2026-11-02T13:10:08+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-02T13:47:19+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/nov/02/greenpeace-boulder-barrier-north-sea-industrial-fishing-bottom-trawling-marine-protected-area
- Topics: Business

## Key points

- Greenpeace placed boulders to deter bottom trawling in the North Sea.
- The barrier covers 116 sq km of a marine protected area.
- The site supports nearly 20% of the UK North Sea’s harbour porpoises.

## Summary

Greenpeace activists have placed boulders on the seabed in the Southern North Sea marine protected area, aiming to snag bottom trawling nets and deter industrial fishing. The action highlights a gap between the area’s protected status and the lack of fishing restrictions across most of it, despite its importance to harbour porpoises.

Greenpeace says the barrier closes 116 sq km to bottom trawling, and its ship will patrol the area in the coming days. Bottom trawlers recorded more than 37,200 fishing hours in the protected zone in 2025; across UK marine protected areas, trawlers and dredgers disturbed 55,600 sq km of seabed that year, according to Greenpeace analysis. The government has been contacted for comment.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.