The Lithuanian-registered Margiris fishing boat – once considered the second largest in the world – was banned from fishing in Australian waters in 2013.

Now the controversial boat, which has a dead weight of 6,200 tonnes, has been spotted off the coast of Sussex and Portsmouth over the last several days, according to MarineTraffic.

The 142-metre long Margiris is owned by Dutch company Parlevliet van der Plas, which says it has an ‘excellent reputation for sustainable fishing’. A spokesman for the Blue Planet Society said: ‘The capacity of these trawlers is equivalent to dozens of small-scale fishing vessels, and sustainable small-scale fisheries cannot compete with industrial supertrawlers.

As they are targeting mackerel off the Sussex coast, common dolphins, endangered bluefin tuna and overfished sea bass are in danger. This will effect not only our environment but the livelihood of our local fishermen too as they don't really stand a chance against this behemoth.

These ships say they only take from the surface but in coastal waters the surface and sea bed are not too far apart.

They are not just fishing they are excavating with these huge nets and destroying habitat and breeding grounds.

Trawlers of this size should be globally banned as their waste catch is equal to their cash catch returning thousands of tonnes of marine life dead , back in the water.

A ship like this breaks all quota agreements and is therefore a pirate ship and must be dealt with accordingly by the navy.