As announced at the UN Ocean Conference, on Wednesday 9 July 2025, BLOOM submitted a formal legal notice to the French State, initiating a legal procedure referred to as the “Great Trawl Case.”
The organisation requests that France immediately cease ecological damage to metropolitan waters caused by bottom trawling.
The action is founded on European and national legal frameworks, including the Common Fisheries Policy, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Natura 2000 site regulations, the three‑nautical‑mile coastal-zone trawling ban, and Mediterranean marine protected area regulations.
BLOOM cites a clear scientific consensus linking bottom trawling to marine ecosystem degradation, infringement upon marine biodiversity, and adverse impacts on small‑scale fisheries.
The organisation identifies multiple regulatory failures by France: non‑achievement of good environmental status by 2020, lack of fishing‑risk assessments in Natura 2000 zones, excessive trawling within the three‑mile coastal band, and continued trawling in Mediterranean protected areas.
This, BLOOM asserts, prevents France from honoring its environmental commitments.
The legal notice serves as a prerequisite to judicial proceedings and demands that France take concrete measures to remedy and halt ecological damage.
Should the government fail to act, BLOOM intends to refer the case to administrative courts.
BLOOM is a French non‑governmental organisation dedicated to marine conservation, particularly focusing on harmful fishing practices. It has a history of scientific and legal advocacy, including projects such as “Trawl Watch” to track bottom‑trawling vessels and previous litigation with ClientEarth over bottom trawling in Mediterranean protected areas.
ClientEarth is an environmental law NGO that uses legal mechanisms within EU and national systems to enforce environmental protections. In collaboration with BLOOM, it has previously brought cases against the French government regarding bottom trawling in marine protected zones.