Greenpeace campaigners have begun dumping giant boulders in a North Sea conservation zone to thwart trawlers that they say are hiding destructive fishing by illegally switching off their automatic tracking systems.
Fishing leaders responded angrily, accusing the group of putting fishermen at risk and doing more damage to marine habitats than the trawlers do.
Greenpeace insists that there is no threat to safety or wildlife and plans over the next few days to drop granite boulders weighing up to three tonnes from its ship Esperanza inside the Dogger Bank conservation area. It said that the marine authorities had been informed of the drop zones and that trawlers would have to avoid them for fear of damage.
Times Newspapers Limited 2020