MEPs have voted to reject a ban on bottom-fishing trawlers, which environmentalists say lead to the destruction of the deep-sea.<br /><br />The European Parliament in Strasbourg voted down the propsed ban by 342 votes to 326.<br /><br />It followed a compromise deal struck by the Conservative and Socialist groups to regulate the practice more closely in vulnerable areas.<br /><br />Bottom fishing with heavy trawl nets scoops up everything on the seabed.<br /><br />It is said this destroys fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs which are home to a wide variety of species.<br /><br />The practice is used by France and Spain, which opposed the ban.
