Stephen Fry and Theo James are starring in a darkly satirical short film highlighting the destructive practice of bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy fishing gear across the seabed, obliterating habitats and indiscriminately killing marine life. Bottom Line, launched by ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation on World Ocean Day, aims to raise awareness ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference. Alongside Only One and Oceana UK, the charity is urging the UK government to impose an immediate ban on bottom trawling within all marine protected areas (MPAs).
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Although designated as protected, most UK MPAs still permit bottom trawling. Research by Blue Marine reveals that 74% of England’s inshore MPAs and 92% in Scotland allow the practice, including in delicate ecosystems like seagrass meadows. Directed by twice-BAFTA-nominated Ben Mallaby, the film casts James as a restaurant diner horrified when a pile of rotting by-catch and oil is dumped onto his table as part of his fish order. Fry appears as a sardonic waiter, illustrating the hidden environmental cost of the seafood industry. Both actors are ambassadors for Blue Marine Foundation.
Fry condemned the practice as “morally corrupt”, sharing his shock at witnessing the waste firsthand. “It is appalling that areas designated for protection remain open to such ecologically ruinous activities,” he said. James, a passionate diver, called bottom trawling “grotesque and devastating”, remarking that the by-catch scene gave him a visceral sense of its destructiveness. Their joint message reinforces mounting calls for reform.
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Public pressure has escalated following a recent film by Sir David Attenborough, released to mark his 99th birthday. Influential MPs, including Toby Perkins, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, have renewed demands for ministers to ban the practice in MPAs. Perkins stated that ministers already possess the necessary data and should act without further delay. “Our oceans cannot afford more dithering,” he warned. “It’s time to uphold the promise of protection.”
