In a major win for ocean protection, the District Court of The Hague has ruled that Dutch bottom trawlers can no longer fish in the Dutch Dogger Bank protected area without a permit and environmental assessment. The decision challenges a long-standing exemption that allowed Dutch fishers to carry out bottom trawling in the protected Natura 2000 area without permits, which the court found to be contrary to nature protection legislation.
The Dogger Bank is the focus of a major restoration project led by the Doggerland Foundation and supported through the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, which is working to restore degraded seabed habitats and strengthen long-term protection across the North Sea.
Doggerland Foundation, ARK Rewilding Nederland, ClientEarth, and Blue Marine Foundation brought the case against the Dutch Government and welcomed the ruling.
Emilie Reuchlin, Director of Doggerland Foundation, said the decision was “fantastic news for the North Sea”.
“Bottom trawling poses a huge threat to the Dogger Bank because it destroys life in and on the seabed, such as sharks, rays, long-lived shellfish, sea pens, anemones and corals.
“This ruling puts the burden of proof back in place with the Dutch Government: they are legally bound to subject Dutch fisheries to a permit obligation. To receive a permit, an appropriate assessment must prove that fishing activities will not harm marine life within the marine protected area.”
Nursery of the North Sea
The Dogger Bank, which spans UK, Dutch, German, and Danish waters, is one of the most productive areas of the North Sea. Its shallow seabed supports spawning grounds for fish, nursery habitat for sharks and rays, and feeding grounds for seals, whales, and seabirds including gannets and puffins.
Once home to extensive horse mussel and ocean quahog reefs, the area has been heavily degraded by centuries of bottom trawling, alongside pressures from shipping, oil and gas extraction, and offshore development.
The protected seabed stores significant amounts of carbon in marine sediments and therefore also plays an important role in climate regulation.
Karel van den Wijngaard, North Sea Program Manager at ARK Rewilding Nederland, said the ruling increased the chance for recovery across the Dogger Bank.
“A fundamental point is that nature can recover, but only if we genuinely give it the peace and space to do so.
“The Dogger Bank is protected on paper, but protection only has meaning if the seabed is actually left undisturbed.”
Dogger Bank restoration efforts
Supported through the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, the Dogger Bank project led by Doggerland Foundation is working to restore degraded seabed habitats, rebuild shellfish reefs, and strengthen long-term protection across the North Sea.
Project partners including ARK Rewilding Nederland and Blue Marine Foundation are combining legal action, species restoration, and public engagement to support long-term recovery of the seascape. Alongside legal challenges to bottom trawling in protected areas, the project is also developing experimental horse mussel reef restoration sites and establishing the School of Dogger Bank, an interdisciplinary initiative connecting scientists, artists, policymakers, and communities.
Nature restoration as the starting point
The North Sea is one of the busiest seas in the world. Intensive fishing, shipping, energy extraction, pollution, and climate change have placed significant pressure on the North Sea, leaving many protected marine areas in poor ecological condition. The Netherlands has committed to international targets stipulating that at least 30 percent of the sea must be effectively protected by 2030.
Reuchlin said that after 20 years of campaigning for a ban on trawl fishing, there was finally clarity about the future use of the Dogger Bank.
“The Dutch government is responsible for protecting this nursery and will have to discuss the future with the fishers: if they cannot demonstrate that their activities cause no harm, they will no longer be allowed to fish with trawls in this area.”
Real protection for the entire area
EU legislation stipulates that marine life in Natura 2000 areas must be able to recover. Four years ago, Great Britain closed its part of the Dogger Bank to trawling based on the same legislation. In Germany, proceedings are also underway against the government to protect the German section of the Dogger Bank against trawling. In this way, protection for the entire area is drawing closer, step by step.
Doggerland Foundation now calls upon European and British governments to acknowledge that their fishing fleets are subject to a licensing requirement under the Habitats Directive and that an appropriate assessment is required. The organisation is also calling for the closure of all Natura 2000 areas to bottom trawling unless it can be demonstrated that significant negative effects can be ruled out.
John Condon, Senior Legal Counsel at ClientEarth, said the Dutch court had confirmed that bottom trawling in protected areas “cannot be ignored”.
“‘Protected’ means protected.”
Tom Appleby, Head of Governance and Legal Affairs at Blue Marine Foundation, said the case also had important implications for the UK.
“After pressure from Blue Marine, the UK closed its part of the Dogger Bank to destructive bottom towed gears in 2022 and we would expect EU members to be doing the same.
“We have all signed up to the same international obligations and protecting the North Sea benefits the environment of the entire region; seabirds, salmon, cetaceans and seals do not recognise national boundaries.”
The partners were assisted in this case by attorney Bondine Kloostra of Prakken d’Oliveira Human Rights Lawyers.
