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Huge foreign-registered supertrawler spotted off coast of Britain WAS fishing in conservation zone, tracking data reveals
- Dutch-owned Margiris went into a Marine Conservation Zone in English Channel
- The supertrawler strayed into the 229-square mile 'Offshore Overfalls' zone
- The zones was announced in 2016 to protect threatened species in the water
A supertrawler nicknamed 'Codzilla' trawled for fish in a Marine Conservation Zone set up to protect threatened species in the English Channel.
Tracking data shows that the Dutch-owned Margiris, one of the world's biggest fishing vessels and a floating processing factory, strayed into the 229-square mile 'Offshore Overfalls' zone several times in the past three weeks.
This and other zones were announced with a fanfare in 2016 but no legal measures have been set up to prevent fishing in the supposedly protected waters.
The risk to endangered fish such as the Channel's undulating rays is from 'bycatch', where unwanted species are caught and die.
Campaigners say more dead dolphins and porpoises are found when a mega-trawler is in the area.
Chris Thorne of Greenpeace UK said: 'This highlights the UK Government's laissez-faire attitude towards ocean protection and its continued preference for 'paper parks' that are little more than lines on a map.'
But a Government spokesman blamed the EU Common Fisheries Policy and said 'taking back control of our waters' after Brexit would enable tougher action.
Källa: MailOneline