Welcoming the UK Government Proposals to Ban Seafloor Bottom Trawling

That the Parliament welcomes the proposals by the UK Government to extend the ban on seafloor bottom trawling in relevant UK Marine Protected Areas; believes that bottom trawling disrupts and destroys the marine environment, including rare marine animals and seabed; understands that the purpose of Marine Protected Areas is to protect Scotland’s seas, marine life and habitats from damage caused by human activities, including commercial bottom trawling; notes calls by the UK Parliament Environmental Audit Committee to ban bottom trawling, as well as dredging and aggregate mining within Marine Protected Areas, and calls on the Scottish Government to similarly extend a ban on bottom trawling in all Scottish Marine Protected Areas.