Greece is making a huge commitment to the health of its national marine parks after announcing a ban on bottom trawling.
The practice involves boats dragging heavy netting across the seabed to capture fish and crustaceans. It can cause a lot of harm to aquatic habitats, and a study published in the journal Frontiers revealed bottom trawling can release as much as 370 million tonnes (408 million tons) of carbon dioxide per year.
According to The Guardian, Greece is taking steps to protect its marine ecosystems, pledging €780 million ($839 million as of this writing) to the cause and banning bottom trawling in national parks by 2026. The ruling will extend to all marine protected areas by 2030.
The country is also expanding the reach of its marine parks by 80%, including the Ionian and Aegean, in the hopes of protecting vulnerable marine species, such as sperm whales, striped dolphins, and the Mediterranean monk seal.
"Everyone was expecting France or Germany or Spain to step up," Nicholas Fournier from conservation group Oceana told The Guardian. "The fact that Greece is championing this ban on bottom trawling is surprising but very welcome.
"We hope this creates a domino effect on other European countries to do the same. The pressure is on France, as it hosts the UN oceans conference next year."
According to a report co-authored by the Marine Conservation Society, Seas At Risk, and Oceana, bottom trawling is still happening in 90% of marine protected areas in the European Union.
In addition to protecting aquatic animal species, the move will help prevent the unnecessary release of carbon dioxide, a planet-warming gas linked to rising global temperatures.
If thermometer readings shoot up, oceans will get warmer, which could exacerbate extreme weather conditions like hurricanes and deadly coastal storms.
Warmer waters can also harm marine life. For example, coral bleaching would become more likely in these conditions, as would the formation of toxic algal blooms. The former can have a huge effect on delicate marine ecosystems that rely on coral for food and habitation, while the latter can cause lung and neurological problems in sealife.
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