Over 400 cases of suspected fraud: BLOOM files a complaint for illegal fishing in protected areas

After more than a year’s research carried out jointly with the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) and the Marine Conservation Institute, BLOOM reveals, in a groundbreaking study published in the prestigious scientific journal Science Advances (1), more than 400 cases of fraud by Spanish, Portuguese and French vessels. These boats continue to fish blithely in areas that are off-limits to them due to the extreme fragility of the ecosystems inhabiting them. Two crucial European regulations, hard-won by BLOOM and the DSCC after years of campaigning, help to protect the ocean depths: the “deep-sea fishing” regulation, adopted in December 2016, which bans bottom trawling beyond a depth of 800 meters in the waters of the Northeast Atlantic (2), and the closure in November 2022 of 87 areas between 400 and 800 meters deep so as to protect particularly vulnerable marine ecosystems rich in biodiversity

In both cases, our analysis of satellite data reveals fraud in these no-fishing zones: some 3,500 hours of fishing with bottom gear have taken place in protected areas between 400 and 800 meters since their closure, this number should be 0. Furthermore, our scientific work has established that 19,200 hours of bottom trawling took place beyond 800 meters in two years (from November 2021 to October 2023).  

What these clear and deliberate breaches of the law mean in practice is the silent destruction of the ocean’s most fragile ecosystems, home to multi-millennia-old corals and extremely long-lived and vulnerable species such as deepwater sharks, delicate sponges and dumbo octopus. 

Today, BLOOM is lodging a complaint with the European Commission against France, Spain and Portugal for failing to control their fishing fleets.  

Not Protective confetti

They may be small, but they’re already too much according to industrial fishermen. The 87 zones closed to fishing by the European Commission in November 2022 represent a mere 16,000 km², dots barely perceptible on a map. However, respecting the protection of these “vulnerable marine ecosystems” (VMEs) from the destructive impacts of fishing vessels, particularly dragged and weighted bottom trawls, appears to be too much to swallow for the fishing industry.

Our analysis of satellite data from European fishing fleets highlights a massive fraud phenomenon: 306 vessels were identified as fishing in areas closed for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), as well as 152 bottom trawlers fishing beyond a depth of 800 meters (3) 

The analysis only takes into account European vessels over 15 meters in length, for which geolocation instruments (AIS) are mandatory. 

>> Read our scientific publication <<<

59 super fraudsters  

A detailed analysis reveals profiles of relentless fraudsters: 59 “super fraudsters” (4) 

  • Just 33 bottom trawlers accounted for 95% of the fishing hours identified in waters deeper than 800 meters. More than half (55%) of this illegal fishing was carried out by just three semi-industrial Portuguese bottom trawlers: the CARABINEIRO (24.5m), the CRISTACEO (23.6m) and the AVO NICO (18.8m). 
  • For VMEs, 32 vessels account for 50% of the fishing hours identified in VME zones closed to fishing. Among them, only three Portuguese semi-industrial bottom trawlers account for nearly 20% of this illegal fishing: the Portuguese PRAIA LUSITANA (17.7m), FLORIMAX (24.8m) and AVO NICO (18.8m). 

>>> See table of all “super fraudsters” in appendix <<<

But these figures conceal a far more serious reality. Data expressed in terms of fishing hours fails to take into account the differences in impact depending on vessel size and fishing gear. For example, a 15-meter caseyeur (which sets inert traps) and an 80-meter mega-industrial trawler deploying ballasted and towed nets on the seabed. One hour’s fishing by a caseyeur has hundreds of times less impact on the marine environment than one hour’s bottom trawling (5) , one of the world’s most destructive fishing methods.  

>>> To find out more about the comparative impact of different fishing methods, read our social, ecological and economic assessment of the sector, “Time for a U-turn”. <<<

Super-destructive” vessels belonging to “super-lobbyists”

Among these “super-destroyers” of the ocean, involved in illicit activities, is the LODAIRO, an 86-meter-long bottom trawler owned by the Spanish company Pesquera Ancora, whose managing director, Iván López van der Veen, is also president of the European Bottom Fishing Alliance (EBFA), Europe’s leading trawl defense lobby. His vessel spent more than 30 hours in vulnerable ecosystems in the year following their closure to fishing, and more than 470 hours beyond a depth of 800 meters. These acts speak volumes about the sense of impunity the fishing industry enjoy. 

On the French side, some of the biggest trawlers, such as the JEAN-CLAUDE COULON II (46m long) belonging to the fleet of Intermarché’s Scapêche group, fished for more than 58 hours beyond a depth of 800 meters. Intermarché has been the main opponent of the deep-sea fishing ban for years, and has waged a relentless anti-ecological lobbying campaign in both Brussels and Paris. 

Other fleets, notably from Brittany and the Basque Country, were not to be outdone, such as the Breton company La Houle, whose seven trawlers accumulated more than 254 hours of fishing beyond 800 meters, or the Bigouden company, which, for a single vessel, reached more than 284 hours in the same zones. 

These already substantial fishing hours become frightening when put in perspective with the destructiveness of bottom trawling and the gigantism of certain vessels like the JEAN-CLAUDE COULON II or the LODAIRO.  

Deliberate fraud covered up by complicit governments

It took four years longer than planned for the European Commission to finally close these spectacularly rich and fragile ecosystems, identified by researchers as priority areas for protection. But this was without the fierce lobbying of industrial fishing shipowners who, with the proactive support of their governments, deployed a strategy of resistance to avoid and then delay this essential environmental measure as long as possible. Our study now reveals that industrial vessels knowingly commit fraud with total impunity, thanks to the complicity of public authorities who turn a blind eye when they break the law by fishing in vulnerable ecosystems between 400 and 800 meters below the surface, or by trawling in areas beyond 800 meters.

As a reminder, France and Spain were the main forces of political opposition a European regulation banning deep-sea trawling. It took BLOOM’s thunderous citizen campaign against Intermarché fleets for François Hollande to drop his support for deep-sea fishing at COP21 in Paris in 2015, and for the “deep-sea fishing” regulation to finally be adopted in Europe. This nefarious alliance between governments, state science and industry lobbies is back in action to oppose the closure of remarkable ecosystems to fishing. While the European regulation called for the creation of protected areas as early as 2018, France and Spain bought time by not sending data essential for identifying vulnerable ecosystems. This delaying tactic proved effective: the industrial fleets gained four more years of destructive exploitation, and instead of being protected in 2018, the common heritage of marine biodiversity enjoyed no respite until November 2022. When the European Commission finally closed the areas to fishing, Spain immediately challenged its decision before the European Court of Justice. 

After open support comes tacit complacency

Our analysis now reveals that state support for the most destructive fleets deploying their fishing gear at depth has continued in the form of implicit complacency: while it is incumbent on states to control their fishing fleets, France, Spain and Portugal have deliberately chosen to turn a blind eye to the actions of deep-water fleets intentionally targeting these protected areas, thus knowingly violating regulations while inflicting serious damage on sensitive ecosystems. “Frequent incursions around protected areas or the 800-meter depth isobath show that the industry is well aware of the regulations, but is deliberately violating them,” comments Frédéric Le Manach, BLOOM’s Scientific Director. “The consequences for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and the ocean’s role as a climate regulator are disastrous. 

The impunity of industrialists is an objective reality: the French state has no control over the fishing zones of these vessels, as evidenced by the website of the “Centre national de Surveillance des Pêches”, which only monitors one type of infraction: trawling in coastal waters. (6)

Call for leadership at the UN Oceans Conference

This new study comes at a crucial time, as the international community prepares for the United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC) to be held next June in Nice. While Emmanuel Macron continues to present France as a “champion of the ocean”, this study shows the urgent need for a real safeguarding of protected areas and systematic monitoring of all fishing vessels to end fraudulent activities. 

Natasha Mallet, researcher at BLOOM and co-author of the study, concluded: “The evidence is clear: regulations work, but only when they are properly enforced. We urge the European Commission to close more areas to fishing to protect the most fragile ecosystems, and on EU member states to stop compromising with industrial fishermen. EU countries must step up surveillance, adopt tough sanctions and ensure that no vessel escapes accountability. It’s a question of respecting the law, but also of preserving the oceans for future generations. There is no justification for their continued destruction. 

As host country, France has a unique opportunity to spearhead efforts to protect marine ecosystems on a global scale in the face of continued exploitation of one of the planet’s most fragile and irreplaceable ecosystems. 

Further information 

Using automatic identification system (AIS) data processed by Global Fishing Watch, we tracked the fishing activities of European vessels in the year following the historic closure of 87 Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME) areas by the EU in November 2022. In addition, we looked at fishing activities beyond a depth of 800 meters, an area that has been off-limits to bottom trawlers since January 2017, over the same period and the preceding year. The results are both encouraging and worrying: 

  • An 81% reduction in fishing effort in the 87 areas harboring VMEs demonstrates the potential of the new regulations; 
  • However, around 3,500 hours of illegal fishing were identified in these protected areas in the year following their closure; 
  • Three countries have been the most proactive in destroying VMEs: 
  1. Spain deployed the largest fishing effort in these 87 zones, with 1,769 hours spread over 428 incursions by 183 vessels. 
  2. Three Portuguese vessels equipped with bottom trawls appear to have engaged in extensive bottom trawling, repeatedly targeting a protected area of the western Iberian shelf. Despite protection measures, over 500 hours of fishing were carried out in this area. 
  3. The French fleet, comprising 68 vessels, logged 620 fishing hours for 145 incursions. 
  • In addition, up to 17,600 hours of fishing have been documented in unprotected areas where VMEs are likely to exist, making these points crucial for the protection of biodiversity. To preserve these vulnerable areas from destruction, we call on the European Commission to extend protected areas. 
  • Finally, a further 19,200 hours of bottom trawling have taken place below 800 meters over the past two years, in violation of EU legislation that has banned these activities since January 2017. Under EU regulations, member states are required to monitor fishing operators and sanction offending companies. However, controls are clearly insufficient or even absent, and fraudulent vessels therefore continue their illegal practices with impunity.  

>>> Read the article <<<

NOTES

(1) Victorero et al (2025) Tracking bottom-fishing activities in protected vulnerable marine ecosystem areas and below 800-m depth in European Union waters. Science Advances. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp4353

(2) Regulation (EU) 2016/2336 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 14, 2016.

(3) Some of the trawlers fishing beyond 800 meters are among the vessels infringing protection measures for ecosystems between 400 and 800 meters, which is why the figures for the two categories cannot simply be added together. 

(4) Six of the 33 and 32 incriminated vessels are in common, so the total is not the sum of the two.

(5) In a report published in January 2024, the Agro Institute showed that seabed abrasion caused by gillnetters, caseyeurs and longliners was 480 times lower than that caused by bottom trawlers, demersal seiners and dredgers. The researchers estimated that gillnetters, caseyeurs and trollers/palangriers were responsible for 0.2% of the 600,000 km² abraded by French vessels each year, while bottom trawlers, demersal seiners and dredgers were responsible for 96%. Study available at: https://halieutique.institut-agro.fr/files/fichiers/pdf/performances.pdf (table 10).

(6) The Centre national de surveillance des pêches only monitors trawling within 3 nautical miles for French vessels or within 12 nautical miles for non-French vessels:  https://monitorfish.readthedocs.io/en/latest/alerts.html

Photography copyright : Pierre Gleizes

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