Commercial fishing should be stopped in 30 per cent of UK waters to save threatened species, an new report issued today says.
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution said the capacity of the UK fishing fleet should be cut "to an environmentally sustainable level".
RCEP chairman Sir Tom Blundell told the BBC that the industry's future depended on such measures.
But fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw said steps already taken had first to be allowed to have an impact.
The report - Turning The Tide, Addressing The Impact Of Fisheries On The Marine Environment - says the sea should be treated in the same way as endangered land habitats. More to follow. .
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