BLUE Legal

BLUE Legal fronted legal challenges, both in London and Brussels, over the continued (and potentially unlawful) presence of destructive bottom-towed fishing gears on the Dogger Bank, an area protected by the powerful Habitats Directive. It called out the European Union’s distant-water fleet for fishing for tuna beyond legal limits in the Indian Ocean. BLUE Legal also scored some real victories in the Fisheries Bill – the adoption of fisheries management planning and recognition that the UK fishery is held in a form of public trust. Additionally, the environmental impact of the vast cooling system of the Hinkley Point nuclear power station on the Severn Estuary special area of conservation are now being investigated, after pressure was applied from BLUE Legal.

In all these efforts BLUE Legal worked in collaboration with other environmental NGOs, and fishing and community groups.