Boulders dropped off coast to disrupt deep fishing

A Defra spokesperson said: "We have strict legislation in place to protect our marine environment while supporting sustainable fishing and coastal communities."All Marine Protected Areas are safeguarded by legislation, with damaging fishing activities banned in more than 100 sites, and we are also considering further restrictions where there may be benefits in doing so."Activities at sea should be carried out lawfully and with due regard for the safety of other sea users."Greenpeace added that bottom trawling could leave harbour porpoises, external, marine mammals which are found all over the UK's coast, with low fish stocks to feed on. They added that the noise pollution of trawling disrupted the porpoises' ability to hunt and that the MPA had been designated to protect the animal. In 2022, activists dropped 18 boulders off the coast of Cornwall. After this, the government body responsible for managing coastal waters, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), said: "As England's marine regulator, we are very disappointed that Greenpeace has chosen to take this action to drop boulders to form a barrier, as we don't believe it is justified or will help protect our marine environment."