Greece says it plans to become the first EU state to ban bottom trawling in all of its marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the announcement this week at the “Our Ocean” conference in Athens.
Bottom trawling will be banned in Greece’s three national marine parks - one of which is the largest in the east Mediterranean Sea - by 2026, with the rest following before the end of the decade.
While there are restrictions on trawling in place in other parts of Europe, this has been billed as the first outright ban in all of one EU member state’s MPAs.
Mitsotakis said Greece is spending €780 million on protecting its MPAs.
However, Turkey’s foreign minister has accused the Athens government of exploiting environmental issues for a geopolitical agenda – both neighbouring states are members of NATO.