Europe

International Mobilisation Against Deep-Sea Bottom Trawling on July 14th

7 July, 2014

On July 14th, European Fisheries Ministers will be meeting at the Council in Brussels. A reform of the EU deep-sea fisheries management regulation, including the ban of deep-sea bottom trawling, was proposed by Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki in July 2012. As trawlers continue to drag their nets, the Fisheries Council drags its feet mainly due to the pressure that countries such as France and Spain have put up to hinder the reform. These industrial fishing nations are now jeopardizing the adoption of the ban in Council.

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Seafloor trawling’s ecological impacts revealed

2 May, 2014

Source: The Fish Site

PORTUGAL – Trawling’s impacts on marine ecosystems can be assessed using simple metrics which characterise easy-to-obtain samples of fish, new research suggests. The Portuguese study shows that groups of fish become dominated by fewer species as fishing intensity increases, while their total biomass declines. Moreover, in the most fished areas there were other noteworthy changes, such as substantial reductions in the proportion of sharks and rays. Bottom trawling, a form of fishing which involves dragging nets along the seafloor, can have devastating effects on marine life. The heavy equipment used to hold the net open can damage habitats, changing the structure and function of these sensitive environments.

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