Supertrawlers: the massive industrial fishing ships plundering the UK’s most precious waters 

The UK has always been proud of its beautiful seas, coastal communities and small-scale fishers. 

However, life underwater is disappearing twice as fast as life on land as it’s destroyed at industrial scale, both at home and on the high seas, endangering the species and livelihoods of those who depend on them. 

Which is why we’ve been doing some investigating…

So, what’s happening in UK waters? 

We used tracking data to reveal how much time industrial supertrawlers spent in UK waters between 2020 and early 2025. The results were shocking. 

We found evidence of 26 supertrawlers (industrial fishing vessels 100m+ in length) in our protected waters. Collectively they spent 36,918 hours fishing in 44 UK Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). And the most shocking thing of all? All of those supertrawlers were operating legally, because the government hasn’t banned destructive fishing in areas that have been identified as vulnerable and in need of protection. 

This is bad for nature, and bad for local small scale fishermen. Previously, we’ve teamed up with them to campaign on really protecting so-called protected areas, and you can see their perspective in this film we made, High and Dry. 

What are supertrawlers?

Supertrawlers are fishing ships over 100m in length that catch fish by dragging giant nets behind them. Some of these nets are up to 600m long, catching everything in their path, destroying huge swathes of UK marine life, threatening vulnerable species and stealing the catch from local, independent fishers, many of whom have fished the same waves for generations. 

The vessels are essentially massive industrial floating fish factories. They usually have freezing and processing facilities on board, allowing them to catch great volumes of fish and to remain at sea for long periods. Some are capable of storing close to 6,000 tonnes of frozen fish!

Supertrawlers aren’t the only kind of industrial fishing boat operating in UK waters. But because they’re spending so much time fishing in MPAs, and because they fish on such a large scale, they threaten the most important ocean habitats. This kind of intensive fishing in protected waters simply isn’t compatible with a healthy ocean.

Protected in name only

In theory, MPAs should protect marine life and ecosystems from harmful human activities so they can recover and thrive. They’re crucial to help fish stocks and support small-scale sustainable fishers in coastal communities. 

As our oceans campaigner Erica explains: “The whole point of MPAs is to defend and recover rare, threatened and important ecosystems. But the government is allowing them to be fished with impunity.”

Right now, the UK’s MPAs aren’t worthy of the name. Massive industrial supertrawlers are catching hundreds of tonnes of fish in the areas, in nets that could fit three Eiffel Towers inside.

The ships’ harmful methods affect vulnerable ecosystems, trap threatened species and steal catch from small-scale fishers. It’s a devastating example of why the UK government must urgently strengthen our MPAs and live up to its claim of being a world leader in marine conservation by signing the Global Ocean Treaty into law.

Time for bold action

Even though life underwater faces more threats than ever, the government is failing to stop destructive fishing in our own protected waters. In 2025, we need the UK government to commit to ocean protection at home and in the high seas. So it’s time for the them to: 

• Put a complete ban in place on destructive industrial fishing in all our UK MPAs.
• Catch up with countries like France and Spain and sign the Global Ocean Treaty into national law before June. 
• Vote against deep sea mining at international talks in July.

The government has promised to protect at least 30% of the UK’s oceans by 2030, but that won’t happen unless it stops supertrawlers operating with impunity. 

So please add your voice by signing the petition below. It’s time to make sure protected means protected in UK waters.