In the late 1990s a number of deep-sea scientists began raising concerns in international bodies over the threats to barely explored, poorly understood deep-ocean ecosystems from a fishing practice known as deep-sea bottom trawling. This practice was on the increase as a result of new technology that enabled fishing vessels to go deeper and further out to sea in pursuit of fish. With the introduction of bottom gear with names such as ‘canyon busters’, scientists were alarmed by the prospect of losing species and unique habitats before they had even been discovered by science.
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