Greenpeace deploys boulder barrier in North Sea to 'protect porpoises'

Greenpeace says it has formed an underwater barrier with boulders in the North Sea to prevent "destructive fishing" in an area created to protect porpoises.

The environmental group said its action off England's eastern coast was to prevent "bottom trawling" - a method of fishing in which gear is dragged across the seabed to scoop up fish.

Activists deployed the boulders, which weigh up to two tonnes each, onto the seabed at the weekend in the Southern North Sea Marine Protected Area, which is designated to protect harbour porpoises.

Greenpeace said analysis shows that in 2025, bottom trawlers logged more than 37,000 fishing hours in the protected zone, far more than in any other offshore marine protected area.

The campaigners said bottom trawling destroys delicate seafloor habitats, depletes key fish stocks the porpoises rely on and disrupts their ability to hunt.

Greenpeace claims to have effectively closed 44 sq miles (116 sq km) - roughly an area the size of Newcastle - of the marine protected area to bottom trawling in what they have declared as an "ocean park".

Actors Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch signed their names to the boulders, "marking their wish" for proper protection of such marine areas, said the group.

Greenpeace vessel the Arctic Sunrise will patrol the area to deter other types of destructive fishing over the coming days.

The Southern North Sea supports nearly 20% of the UK North Sea population of harbour porpoises, Greenpeace added.

Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said the campaign group warned the government in June to take action to protect the seas.

"Now we're setting a bold challenge to ministers - ban destructive fishing across all our protected waters at home, and lead the charge for a network of global ocean sanctuaries right across the Atlantic," he added.

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Labour MP and former climate minister Kerry McCarthy, who also signed one of the boulders, said: "Industrialised fishing is having a hugely destructive impact on our marine environment, yet less than 1% of our seas are protected from it.

"We need a ban on bottom trawling and properly protected ocean sanctuaries, both here in UK waters and right across the Atlantic Ocean."

(c) Sky News 2026: Greenpeace deploys boulder barrier in North Sea to 'protect porpoises'