Scotland Protects Over 100,000 Square Kilometers of Ocean from Destructive Fishing | Oceana

Victory | September 30, 2025

Scotland Protects Over 100,000 Square Kilometers of Ocean from Destructive Fishing

Scotland protected five marine protected areas (MPA) from destructive bottom trawling, encompassing over 100,000 square kilometers (38,000 square miles) of Scottish seas, including the West of Scotland MPA, which is known as a biodiversity hotspot. An additional 62,000 square kilometers (23,000 square miles) of the United Kingdom’s seas are now protected for the first time against this destructive fishing method that bulldozes everything in its path. With these new measures, more than 30% of the U.K. seas are now protected from bottom trawling. Partial protections were also announced for 15 other MPAs, and Oceana continues to campaign for their full protection from bottom trawling.