The environmental organisation, Greenpeace, has issued a statement saying that activists on board its ship, Arctic Sunrise, have dropped boulders weighing several tons onto the seabed off the UK coast, in the Southern North Sea, which it describes as “the UK’s most bottom-trawled offshore Marine Protected Area (MPA).”
It says this was done to form “an underwater barrier to prevent the destructive fishing method,” 50km (30 miles) east of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Nine two-tonne boulders, with signatures from UK MPs and prominent figures including actors Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch, were dropped, according to Greenpeace, which says its action has “formed an underwater barrier effectively closing 116 km² along England’s east coast.”
The latest action follows Greenpeace's June announcement, reported by Afloat.ie, that it intended to create new underwater boulder barriers in UK Marine Protected Areas in response to continued industrial fishing activity.
At the time, Greenpeace pointed to previous boulder deployments at Dogger Bank in 2020, Offshore Brighton in 2021 and South West Deeps off Cornwall in 2022. Bottom trawling was subsequently banned at Dogger Bank and Offshore Brighton under separate regulatory measures. The Southern North Sea operation is the latest development in that campaign.
The boulders were dropped during the past weekend. Greenpeace also released photos of their action.
Making Waves: A two-tonne boulder is lowered from Greenpeace's Arctic Sunrise into the Southern North Sea as activists attempt to block bottom trawling across 116 sq km of protected waters off England's east coast. Photo: Greenpeace PR
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said, "Activities at sea should be carried out lawfully. We have strict legislation in place to protect our marine environment while supporting sustainable fishing and coastal communities.”
Greenpeace told the media that this was a "last resort." It did not have a licence.
“Bottom trawlers spent at least 37,200 hours in 2025 alone fishing in this MPA – created to protect harbour porpoises,” Greenpeace has claimed.
Will McCallum, Co-executive Director of Greenpeace UK, said: “Destruction on a huge scale is happening near our shores out of sight, in places we’re told are ‘Marine Protected Areas’. Hulking great ships prowl our oceans day after day, stripping them of fish and killing precious wildlife like dolphins, sharks and seabirds.
“With our ship and a movement behind us, we’re doing what the government isn’t: Protecting our seas. We’re setting a bold challenge to ministers: Ban destructive fishing across all our protected waters at home, and lead the charge for a network of global ocean sanctuaries across the Atlantic.”
