Overview

• Bloom lodged a recours gracieux on July 9 with the Ecology Ministry demanding immediate state action to stop ecological damage from bottom trawling in metropolitan waters.
• The NGO argues that France’s current trawling practices violate its commitments under the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Habitats and Birds Directives.
• Aymeric Thillaye du Boullay, Bloom’s legal director, said the recours gracieux is a prerequisite to taking the case before an administrative tribunal if authorities do not act.
• French fishing organizations sued Bloom for defamation in June over its criticism of industrial trawling methods, escalating tensions between the sector and conservationists.
• In early June the government announced it would confine bottom trawling to just 4 percent of metropolitan waters by the end of 2026, a measure that environmentalists say falls short of protecting vulnerable habitats.