A Greenpeace group based in Falmouth has called for restrictions on supertrawlers working off the coast of Cornwall.

The group has calculated that supertrawlers spent more than 43 hours fishing in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) off the South West coast of England in 2019.

This includes more than 2 hours spent fishing in MPAs off the coast of Cornwall.

A Greenpeace investigation shows that in total, supertrawlers spent 2963 hours, the equivalent of 123 days, fishing in MPAs off the UK as a whole.

The group claims that supertrawlers are "destructive floating fish factories" that can catch and process hundreds of tonnes of fish every day, and says they are "not compatible" with healthy oceans.

Tom Pine from Greenpeace Falmouth Local Group, said:

"I'm horrified to discover that the protected areas off the South West coast are being exploited by industrial fishing giants and that this is happening legally.

"For the UK government to be taken seriously as a leader in marine protection, it must ban supertrawler operations in the UK's Marine Protected Areas.

"Current negotiations with the EU on fishing rights provide the perfect chance to do this. Please support our call to end industrial fishing in MPAs, by signing our petition"

The Greenpeace Falmouth Group has been campaigning for several years to protect oceans and is now urging the government to make changes.

Tom added:

"As a county surrounded by over 400 miles of coastline, we know how important our oceans are for food, tourism and tackling climate change.

"In January, we held a photo exhibition at The Fish Factory Art Space in Penryn to showcase the beauty of our oceans, and we've also dressed up as penguins to call for an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary, and celebrated World Oceans Day with a blue wave on Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth."

At 7pm on the 24th June, following on from World Oceans Day on 8th June, join the group online to watch a documentary 'Four Corners', about the Australian campaign to ban supertrawlers.

Click here to see more from Greenpeace.