The global race to fish the deep seas is, in many ways, a story of haves and have nots.
As coastal fisheries have grown more and more depleted, fleets from more developed nations are increasingly combing deep international waters in search of commercial fish and
crustacean species. More powerful engines,
more precise mapping, advanced navigational and fish-finding electronics, stronger and lighter synthetic materials – all of these developments have made it possible to bottom trawl in seas up to two kilometers (1.2 miles) deep. As a result, trawling has become the dominant high seas bottom fishing method, accounting for approximately 80 percent of the total high seas bottom fisheries catch in 2001.
Available in: English and English US standard.