10 July 2026, London - The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has won the Impact Award at the TrustLaw Awards 2026 for legal research that is helping to protect marine life across Europe. The award, run by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, recognises pro bono work carried out with global law firm Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.

The research underpinned a series of complaints and national court cases challenging bottom trawling in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), where the practice continues despite laws meant to safeguard fragile habitats. Bottom trawling drags heavy, weighted nets across the seabed, flattening reefs, seagrass beds and sandbanks.

The pro bono research was coordinated through TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation's global pro bono network, and undertaken by Hogan Lovells Cadwalader. In April 2025, EJF, alongside Blue Marine Foundation, ClientEarth, Défense des Milieux Aquatiques (DMA) and Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), filed a complaint with the European Commission against France, Germany and Italy, arguing that the three states are systematically failing to protect marine ecosystems under the EU Habitats Directive. Bottom trawling takes place in 77% of France's, 85% of Germany's and 44% of Italy's marine Natura 2000 sites.

The research also informed national legal action, including in France, where a court found existing protections insufficient, and in Germany, where EJF and DUH have brought a case over bottom trawling in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.

EJF is calling on the European Commission to open infringement proceedings against Member States that still allow bottom trawling in protected areas, and on national governments to enforce existing law. It says legal pressure is only part of the answer, and that a fair transition is needed to support fishers moving towards low-impact, selective methods.

For EJF, the findings from this research have been central to its advocacy. Marie Colombier, Senior Ocean Campaigner at the Environmental Justice Foundation, said: "Pro bono legal support helped us piece together the true scale of how bottom trawling is devastating Europe's supposedly protected seas. What began as research became a legal case in one of the highest courts in France, as well as a coalition complaint to the European Commission, and we are continuing to turn evidence into action and drive accountability to protect ocean life and coastal communities."

Adriano Mancinelli, Head of Delivery at TrustLaw, said: "We're grateful for the trust EJF placed in Thomson Reuters Foundation and our member Hogan Lovells Cadwalader for this important work. Ensuring that civil society is equipped to defend rights and hold power to account is at the heart of TrustLaw's work, particularly at a time of mounting demands on civil society organisations and shrinking resources. This project shows how pro bono legal research, paired with rigorous investigation and advocacy, can bring about accountability and meaningful protection for Europe's marine ecosystems."

ENDS

Notes to editors

The TrustLaw Awards 2026 winners are published on the Thomson Reuters Foundation website, here.

Image credits REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon.

About EJF

Our work to secure environmental justice aims to protect our global climate, ocean, forests, wetlands, wildlife and defend the fundamental human right to a secure natural environment, recognising that all other rights are contingent on this. EJF works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect our environment and defend human rights. We investigate and expose abuses and support environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, communities, and independent journalists on the frontlines of environmental injustice. Our campaigns aim to secure peaceful, equitable and sustainable futures. Our investigators, researchers, filmmakers, and campaigners work with grassroots partners and environmental defenders across the globe. For more information or to organise an interview with one of our team, please contact media@ejfoundation.org.