Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
France 24
France 24
National

Floating carpet of dead fish highlights France’s ‘lax’ attitude to overfishing

Some one hundred thousand dead fish were dumped from the trawler Margiris into the Bay of Biscay on France's Atlantic coast on February 3, 2022. © Sea Shepherd

Some 100,000 dead fish were thrown back into the sea off the French coast on Thursday by one of the world's largest fishing vessels. While the crew dismissed it as a "fishing accident", NGO Sea Shepherd denounced it as a "pillaging". It hopes that shocking images of the dead marine life will raise enough public awareness so that strong political decisions will be taken to combat overfishing.

From a distance, it looks like a long white streak of sea foam. At close range, the streak is comprised of the silvery bodies of some 100,000 dead fish, dumped back into the sea by Dutch-owned trawler FV Margiris, the world’s second-biggest fishing vessel. Macabre images of this carpet of dead fish went viral on social media when Sea Shepherd posted them on Thursday, as part of their Operation Ocean Killers in the Bay of Biscay on France's Atlantic coast.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.