PM urged to ratify ocean treaty

THE Prime Minister is being urged to take “decisive action” to protect the seas in the wake of Sir David Attenborough’s new film on the oceans.

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The heads of Greenpeace UK, Oceana UK and Blue Marine Foundation have written to Sir Keir Starmer urging him to prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty to conserve the high seas and help protect 30% of the world’s oceans.

And he must implement a full ban on bottom trawling and other forms of destructive fishing in all UK marine protected areas to deliver conservation efforts domestically, they say.

Ocean with David Attenborough, released in cinemas to mark the renowned naturalist and TV presenter’s 99th birthday, highlights the need to protect nearly a third of the oceans so they can recover from overfishing and habitat destruction, secure food for billions of people and tackle climate change.

The film includes dramatic footage of the devastation fishing practices such as bottom trawling wreak on the seabed and its wildlife, including before-and-after footage of scallop-dredging off Scotland's Isle of Arran.