Flanders and the Netherlands agreed on Tuesday to jointly advocate at the European level for the continuation of bottom trawling, a fishing technique criticised for its environmental impact.
The two governments reached the agreement at a bilateral summit in Ghent, where they committed to advocating for ‘innovative’ bottom trawling, Flemish Economy Minister Hilde Crevits said.
According to Minister Crevits, who has been engaged in this issue for years, the techniques have been improved to allow more precise fishing.
Bottom trawling, or beam trawling, involves using weighted nets that “scrape” the seabed to collect species such as plaice and sole. Because a structure is dragged along the ocean floor, this method is inherently non-selective and destructive to entire ecosystems.
Europe aims to limit its use, balancing environmental associations’ calls for a complete ban and fishermen’s concerns about threats to their livelihood, particularly for species like sole and plaice that live on the seabed.
Flemish and Dutch fishermen are significant users of the controversial technique.
At the same summit, a biennial tradition, the Flemish and Dutch governments also agreed to increase collaboration on nitrogen issues and to facilitate cooperation in border areas.
