GREENPEACE has announced the mammoth super-trawler Margiris ­— spotted off the coast of the Isle of Wight in September ­— was operating in a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ).

Analysis by Greenpeace UK has shown the second largest trawler in the world, banned from Australian waters, was fishing in an area of the English Channel designated by the UK government as an MCZ.

UK law enforcement boarded the Margiris soon after it arrived in the Channel, but found no evidence of illegal activity.

According to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee website, no specific management measures have been implemented since the area was designated an MCZ, which means various types of fishing efforts, including the trawling method employed by the Margiris and other industrial trawlers, are permitted.

"Our government speaks well about ocean protection, but these are empty words until it takes serious action to replace the broken network of paper parks, which allow super-trawlers like Margiris to fish in supposedly protected areas right on our doorstep," said Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner, Chris Thorne.

The Margiris ­— capable of processing 250 tonnes of fish each day ­— spent significant time fishing in the Offshore Overfalls MCZ, as shown by marine traffic data collected by Greenpeace.

Its owners said the ship was in the Channel to catch mackerel and pilchards.

While fishing in the Channel, its average catch per day was 68 tonnes of mackerel and two tonnes of pilchards, meaning the Margiris has caught a total of 1,610 tonnes of fish in UK waters.

The owners stated there was zero by-catch ­— a claim that has been challenged by local fishermen, politicians and conservation groups, who have expressed serious concerns about how a ship of its size can operate sustainably in UK waters.

Bembridge resident, Alistair Chisholm, recently started a petition calling on the UK Government to work internationally to ban such trawlers and remove them from UK water.

The petition has collected more than 24,000 signatures so far.

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