bottom trawling

File:Pino Ladra 29.jpg|alt=Ship, Viveiro]]

An early reference to fishery conservation measures comes from a complaint about a form of trawling dating from the 14th century, during the reign of Edward III.{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=Peter |date=May 2018 |title=The long 'lost' history of bottom trawling in England, c.1350–1650 |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0843871418766765 |journal=International Journal of Maritime History |language=en |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=201–217 |doi=10.1177/0843871418766765 |s2cid=134879666 |issn=0843-8714|url-access=subscription }} A petition was presented to Parliament in 1376 calling for the prohibition of a "subtlety contrived instrument called the wondyrchoum". This was an early beam trawl with a wooden beam, and consisted of a net 6 m (18 ft) long and 3 m (10 ft) wide,

of so small a mesh, no manner of fish, however small, entering within it can pass out and is compelled to remain therein and be taken...by means of which instrument the fishermen aforesaid take so great abundance of small fish aforesaid, that they know not what to do with them, but feed and fatten the pigs with them, to the great damage of the whole commons of the kingdom, and the destruction of the fisheries in like places, for which they pray remedy.March, Page 33{{cite web |last=Collins |first=J.W. |date=1887 |title=The Beam Trawl Fishery of Great Britain with Notes on Beam-Trawling in Other European Countries |url=https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/fish-bull/fb7.60.pdf |access-date=17 March 2017 |publisher=Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission |page=292 |quote=100 MegaByte PDF}}

Another source describes the wondyrchoum as:

three fathom long and ten men's feet wide, and that it had a beam ten feet long, at the end of which were two frames formed like a colerake, that a leaded rope weighted with a great many stones was fixed on the lower part of the net between the two frames, and that another rope was fixed with nails on the upper part of the beam, so that the fish entering the space between the beam and the lower net were caught. The net had maskes of the length and breadth of two men's thumbsDavis, F (1958) An Account of the Fishing Gear of England and Wales. 4th edition, HMSO.

The response from the Crown was to "let Commission be made by qualified persons to inquire and certify on the truth of this allegation, and thereon let right be done in the Court of Chancery". Thus, already back in the Middle Ages, basic arguments about three of the most sensitive current issues surrounding trawling - the effect of trawling on the wider environment, the use of small mesh size, and of industrial fishing for animal feed - were already being raised.

Until the late 18th century sailing vessels were only capable of towing small trawls. However, in the closing years of that century a type of vessel emerged that was capable of towing a large trawl, in deeper waters. The development of this type of craft, the sailing trawler, is credited to the fishermen of Brixham in Devon. The new method proved to be far more efficient than traditional long-lining. At first its use was confined to the western half of the English Channel, but as the Brixham men extended their range to the North Sea and Irish Sea it became the norm there too.

By the end of the 19th century there were more than 3,000 sailing trawlers in commission in UK waters and the practice had spread to neighbouring European countries. Despite the availability of steam, trawling under sail continued to be economically efficient, and sailing trawlers continued to be built until the middle of the 1920s. Some were still operating in UK waters until the outbreak of World War II, and in Scandinavia and the Faroe Islands until the 1950s.

English commissions in the 19th century determined that there should be no limitation on trawling. They believed that bottom trawling, like tilling of land, actually increased production. As evidence, they noted that a second trawler would often follow a first trawler, and that the second trawler would often harvest even more fish than the first. The reason for this peculiarity is that the destruction caused by the first trawl resulted in many dead and dying organisms, which temporarily attracted a large number of additional species to feed on this moribund mass.

Bottom trawling does not only have a long tradition in European waters. It was also recognized in 1704 during the Edo era in Japan as a common fishing method. A slightly different approach was developed where the "Utase Ami" or "trawled bottom net" was deployed from a sideways sailing boat.Nakamoura E, Ourakami T (1900) Histoire de l’industrie de la pêche maritime etfluviale ouJapon. (Translated from the Japanese into French). Bureau des produits maritimes etfleuviauxdu ministère d’agriculture et commerce, Tokyo

Bottom trawling has been widely implicated in the population collapse of a variety of fish species, locally and worldwide, including orange roughy, barndoor skate, shark, and many others.Roberts, Callum (2007). The Unnatural History of the Sea, Island Press, p. 238

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The design requirements of a bottom trawl are relatively simple, a mechanism for keeping the mouth of the net open in horizontal and vertical dimensions, a "body" of net which guides fish inwards, and a "cod-end" of a suitable mesh size, where the fish are collected. The size and design of net used is determined by the species being targeted, the engine power and design of the fishing vessel and locally enforced regulations.

File:FMIB 36649 Beam Trawl.jpeg|A beam trawl

File:FMIB 34023 Grampus.jpeg|A detail

File:Scheepsmodel smack LT 1203 - Danny Pylyser - Marcel Vermoote - NAVIGO Nationaal Visserijmuseum - 0481.jpg|Ship model of the smack for beam trawling, NAVIGO National Fisheries Museum, Belgium

The simplest method of bottom trawling, the mouth of the net is held open by a solid metal beam, attached to two "shoes", which are solid metal plates, welded to the ends of the beam, which slide over and disturb the seabed. This method is mainly used on smaller vessels, fishing for flatfish or prawns, relatively close inshore.

File:FMIB 36645 Otter trawl.jpeg

Otter trawling derives its name from the large rectangular otter boards which are used to keep the mouth of the trawl net open. Otter boards are made of timber or steel and are positioned in such a way that the hydrodynamic forces, acting on them when the net is towed along the seabed, push them outwards and prevent the mouth of the net from closing. They also act like a plough, digging up to {{convert|15|cm|in|0}} into the seabed, creating a turbid cloud, and scaring fish towards the net mouth.

The net is held open vertically on an otter trawl by floats and/or kites attached to the "headline" (the rope which runs along the upper mouth of the net), and weighted "bobbins" attached to the "foot rope" (the rope which runs along the lower mouth of the net). These bobbins vary in their design depending on the roughness of the sea bed which is being fished, varying from small rubber discs for very smooth, sandy ground, to large metal balls, up to {{convert|0.5|m|ft|1}} in diameter, for very rough ground. These bobbins can also be designed to lift the net off the seabed when they hit an obstacle. These are known as "rock-hopper" gear.

File:Pelagisches Schleppnetz.jpg

The body of the trawl is funnel-like, wide at its "mouth" and narrowing towards the cod end, and usually is fitted with wings of netting on both sides of the mouth. It is long enough to assure adequate flow of water and prevent fish from escaping the net, after having been caught. It is made of diamond-meshed netting, the size of the meshes decreasing from the front of the net towards the codend. Into the body, fish and turtle escape devices can be fitted. These can be simple structures like "square mesh panels", which are easier for smaller fish to pass through, or more complicated devices, such as bycatch grills.

The cod end is the trailing end of the net where fish are finally "caught". The size of mesh in the cod end is a determinant of the size of fish which the net catches. Consequently, regulation of mesh size is a common way of managing mortality of juvenile fishes in trawl nets.

{{see also|Environmental impact of fishing|environmental damage|Marine conservation}}

File:Lake Michigan Bottom Trawl Debris.webm

Trawling gear produces acute impacts on biota and the physical substratum of the seafloor by disrupting the sediment column structure, overturning boulders, re-suspending sediments and imprinting deep scars on muddy bottoms.{{Cite news|last=Urbina|first=Ian|date=July 28, 2015|title=A Renegade Trawler, Hunted for 10,000 Miles by Vigilantes.|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/world/a-renegade-trawler-hunted-for-10000-miles-by-vigilantes.html|access-date=November 20, 2020}} Also, the repetitive passage of trawling gear over the same areas creates long-lasting, cumulative impacts that modify the cohesiveness and texture of sediments. It can be asserted nowadays that due to its recurrence, mobility and wide geographical extent, industrial trawling has become a major force driving seafloor change and affecting not only its physical integrity on short spatial scales but also imprinting measurable modifications to the geomorphology of entire continental margins.Oberle et al. (2018), [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319112762_Submarine_Geomorphology_Bottom_Trawling_and_other_Fishing_Activities “Submarine Geomorphology: Bottom Trawling and other Fishing Activities”], Book: Submarine Geomorphology Chapter 25, Springer, doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-57852

Bottom fishing has operated for over a century on heavily fished grounds such as the North Sea and Grand Banks. While overfishing has long been recognised as causing major ecological changes to the fish community on the Grand Banks, concern has been raised more recently about the damage which benthic trawling inflicts upon seabed communities.

{{cite web

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A species of particular concern is the slow growing, deep water coral Lophelia pertusa. This species is home to a diverse community of deep sea organisms, but is easily damaged by fishing gear. On 17 November 2004, the United Nations General Assembly urged nations to consider temporary bans on high seas bottom trawling.{{UN document |docid=A-59-PV.56 |body=General Assembly |type=Verbatim Report |session=59 |meeting=56 |page=4 |anchor=pg004-bk02 |date=17 November 2004 |speakername=Ms. Kimball | speakernation=International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |access-date=2009-05-09 }} A global analysis of the impacts of bottom trawling found that the impact on seabed biota was strongly dependent on the type of gear used, with otter trawls estimated as having the smallest impact and removing 6% of biota per pass while hydraulic dredges had the largest impact and removed 41% of biota per pass.{{Cite journal|last1=Hiddink|first1=Jan Geert|last2=Jennings|first2=Simon|last3=Sciberras|first3=Marija|last4=Szostek|first4=Claire L.|last5=Hughes|first5=Kathryn M.|last6=Ellis|first6=Nick|last7=Rijnsdorp|first7=Adriaan D.|last8=McConnaughey|first8=Robert A.|last9=Mazor|first9=Tessa|date=2017-07-14|title=Global analysis of depletion and recovery of seabed biota after bottom trawling disturbance|journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=114|issue=31|language=en|pages=8301–8306|doi=10.1073/pnas.1618858114|issn=0027-8424|pmid=28716926|pmc=5547586|bibcode=2017PNAS..114.8301H |doi-access=free}} Other research found trawled canyon sediments contained 52 percent less organic matter than the undisturbed seafloor. There were 80 percent fewer sea worms in the trawled region and only half as much diversity of species in the trawled seafloor.{{Cite web | url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/5/140519-bottom-trawling-seafloor-oceans-damage-science/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920075127/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/5/140519-bottom-trawling-seafloor-oceans-damage-science/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 20, 2020 |title = In Brief: Deep-sea Trawling Has "Devastating" Impact, Study Finds| website=National Geographic Society |date = 2014-05-19}}

Image:Louisiana trawling landsat cropped.jpg

Bottom trawling stirs up the sediment at the bottom of the sea. The suspended solid plumes can drift with the current for tens of kilometres from the source of the trawling, increasing sedimentation rates in deep environments {{Cite journal |doi = 10.1038/srep43332|title = Bottom-trawling along submarine canyons impacts deep sedimentary regimes|year = 2017|last1 = Paradis|first1 = Sarah|last2 = Puig|first2 = Pere|last3 = Masqué|first3 = Pere|last4 = Juan-Díaz|first4 = Xènia|last5 = Martín|first5 = Jacobo|last6 = Palanques|first6 = Albert|journal = Scientific Reports|volume = 7| issue=1 |page = 43332|pmid = 28233856|pmc = 5324136|bibcode = 2017NatSR...743332P}} Bottom trawling-induced resuspended sediment mass on the world's continental shelves has been estimated at 22 gigatonnes per year, approximately the same as the sediment mass supplied to the continental shelves through the world's rivers.{{Cite journal|last1=Oberle|first1=Ferdinand K.J.|last2=Storlazzi|first2=Curt D.|last3=Hanebuth|first3=Till J.J.|date=2016|title=What a drag: Quantifying the global impact of chronic bottom trawling on continental shelf sediment|journal=Journal of Marine Systems|language=en|volume=159|pages=109–119|doi=10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.12.007|bibcode=2016JMS...159..109O}} These plumes introduce a turbidity which decreases light levels at the bottom and can affect kelp reproduction.{{Cite journal |last1=Watanabe |first1=Hayato |last2=Ito |first2=Miku |last3=Matsumoto |first3=Akira |last4=Arakawa |first4=Hisayuki |date=2016-01-04 |title=Effects of sediment influx on the settlement and survival of canopy-forming macrophytes |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=18677 |doi=10.1038/srep18677 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=4698636 |pmid=26726051|bibcode=2016NatSR...618677W }} Repeated resuspension can also lead to a hardening of the sea bottom as finer sediments are proportionally more effectively carried away by currents than larger sediments, thus leading to habitat change.{{Cite journal |last1=Oberle |first1=Ferdinand K.J. |last2=Swarzenski |first2=Peter W. |last3=Reddy |first3=Christopher M. |last4=Nelson |first4=Robert K. |last5=Baasch |first5=Benjamin |last6=Hanebuth |first6=Till J.J. |date=July 2016 |title=Deciphering the lithological consequences of bottom trawling to sedimentary habitats on the shelf |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S092479631500233X |journal=Journal of Marine Systems |language=en |volume=159 |pages=120–131 |doi=10.1016/j.jmarsys.2015.12.008|bibcode=2016JMS...159..120O |url-access=subscription }}

Bottom trawling can both resuspend and bury biologically recyclable organic material, changing the flow of nutrients and carbon through the food web and thereby alter geomorphological landscapes. Ocean sediments are the sink for many persistent organic pollutants, usually lipophilic pollutants like DDT, PCB and PAH.{{Cite journal |last1=Avellan |first1=Astrid |last2=Duarte |first2=Armando |last3=Rocha-Santos |first3=Teresa |date=February 2022 |title=Organic contaminants in marine sediments and seawater: A review for drawing environmental diagnostics and searching for informative predictors |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969721070881 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |language=en |volume=808 |pages=152012 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152012|pmid=34856284 |bibcode=2022ScTEn.80852012A |url-access=subscription }} Bottom trawling mixes these pollutants into the plankton ecology where they can move back up the food chain and into our food supply.{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.envpol.2012.06.019|pmid=22842052|title=Bottom trawling resuspends sediment and releases bioavailable contaminants in a polluted fjord|journal=Environmental Pollution|volume=170|pages=232–241|year=2012|last1=Bradshaw|first1=C.|last2=Tjensvoll|first2=I.|last3=Sköld|first3=M.|last4=Allan|first4=I.J.|last5=Molvaer|first5=J.|last6=Magnusson|first6=J.|last7=Naes|first7=K.|last8=Nilsson|first8=H.C.|bibcode=2012EPoll.170..232B }}

Phosphorus is often found in high concentration in soft shallow sediments.{{cite book|doi=10.1016/B0-08-043751-6/08153-6|chapter=The Global Phosphorus Cycle|title=Treatise on Geochemistry|pages=585–643|year=2003|last1=Ruttenberg|first1=K.C.|publisher=Elsevier |isbn=9780080437514}} Resuspending nutrient solids like these can introduce oxygen demand into the water column, and result in oxygen deficient dead zones.{{cite web |last1=US Department of Commerce |first1=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=What is a dead zone? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/deadzone.html#:~:text=%22Dead%20zone%22%20is%20a%20more%20common%20term%20for,as%20a%20result%20are%20often%20called%20%22dead%20zones.%22 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |access-date=16 October 2020 |language=EN-US}}

Even in areas where the bottom sediments are ancient, bottom trawling, by reintroducing the sediment into the water column, can create harmful algae blooms.Giannakourou, A., Orlova, T.Y., Assimakopoulou, G., Pagou, K. (2005) Dinoflagellate cysts in recent marine sediments from Thermaikos Gulf, Greece. Continental Shelf Research 25, 2585-2596.

Weaver, Dallas E (2007) [http://web.mac.com/deweaver/bottom_trawling/Links_to_Docs.html Remote Impacts of Bottom Trawling] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410185854/http://web.mac.com/deweaver/bottom_trawling/Links_to_Docs.html |date=2009-04-10 }}. More suspended solids are introduced into the oceans from bottom trawling than any other man-made source.{{cite journal |last1=Palanques |first1=A. |last2=Guillén |first2=J. |last3=Puig |first3=P. |title=Impact of bottom trawling on water turbidity and muddy sediment of an unfished continental shelf |journal=Limnology and Oceanography |date=July 2001 |volume=46 |issue=5 |pages=1100–1110 |doi=10.4319/lo.2001.46.5.1100 |bibcode=2001LimOc..46.1100P |doi-access=free |hdl=10261/244111 |hdl-access=free }}

Multiple large-scale reviews on bottom trawling have noted that there is a great need for further studies that properly examine the effects of nutrient and toxin remobilization as well as carbon cycling,NRC (2002) (National Research Council) Effects of trawling and dredging on seafloor habitat. National Academies Press, Washington, DCICES (2006) International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES): report of the WorkingGroup on Ecosystem Effects of Fishing Activities. ACE 05:1 179 in order to better estimate greenhouse gas emissions and hence the impact on climate change.{{Cite journal|date=2019-02-01|title=Quantifying and valuing carbon flows and stores in coastal and shelf ecosystems in the UK|journal=Ecosystem Services|language=en|volume=35|pages=67–76|doi=10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.10.013|issn=2212-0416|doi-access=free|last1=Luisetti|first1=Tiziana|last2=Turner|first2=R. Kerry|last3=Andrews|first3=Julian E.|last4=Jickells|first4=Timothy D.|last5=Kröger|first5=Silke|last6=Diesing|first6=Markus|last7=Paltriguera|first7=Lucille|last8=Johnson|first8=Martin T.|last9=Parker|first9=Eleanor R.|last10=Bakker|first10=Dorothee C.E.|last11=Weston|first11=Keith|bibcode=2019EcoSv..35...67L }}

File:Results of trawling.png

The Secretary General of the United Nations reported in 2006 that 95 percent of damage to seamount ecosystems worldwide is caused by deep sea bottom trawling.Report of the Secretary-General (2006) [https://www.un.org/Depts/los/general_assembly/documents/impact_of_fishing.pdf The Impacts of Fishing on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems]. United Nations. Retrieved on 10 August 2008Reed JK, Koenig CC, Shepard AN, and Gilmore Jr RG (2007) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100104131308/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7004 Long Term Monitoring of a Deep-water Coral Reef: Effects of Bottom Trawling]}} Twenty-sixth annual Scientific Diving Symposium. Retrieved on 10 August 2008 A study published in Current Biology suggests a cutoff of {{convert|600|m|ft}} is a point which ecological damage increases significantly.{{Cite news|title = Drawing the line|url = https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21663195-when-regulating-fishing-it-always-helps-have-data-drawing-line|newspaper = The Economist|access-date = 2015-09-18|issn = 0013-0613}}

An estimated 370 million tonnes a year of carbon dioxide stored in seafloor sediment is released by bottom-trawling fishing.{{Cite news |last=McVeigh |first=Karen |date=2024-01-18 |title=Carbon released by bottom trawling 'too big to ignore', says study |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/18/carbon-released-by-bottom-trawling-too-big-to-ignore-says-study |access-date=2024-03-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Most carbon released into the sea enters the atmosphere within a decade.{{Cite journal |last1=Atwood |first1=Trisha B. |last2=Romanou |first2=Anastasia |last3=DeVries |first3=Tim |last4=Lerner |first4=Paul E. |last5=Mayorga |first5=Juan S. |last6=Bradley |first6=Darcy |last7=Cabral |first7=Reniel B. |last8=Schmidt |first8=Gavin A. |last9=Sala |first9=Enric |date=2024 |title=Atmospheric CO2 emissions and ocean acidification from bottom-trawling |journal=Frontiers in Marine Science |volume=10 |doi=10.3389/fmars.2023.1125137 |doi-access=free |issn=2296-7745}} Banning bottom trawling in marine protected areas has been suggested.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-13 |title=Bottom trawling is huge source of carbon emissions, new study reveals |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-bottom-trawling-fishing |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Environment |language=en}}

Today, some countries regulate bottom trawling within their jurisdictions:[http://www.savethehighseas.org/recentaction.cfm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204193626/http://www.savethehighseas.org/recentaction.cfm|date=February 4, 2012}}

• The United States Regional Fishery Management Councils limit bottom trawling in specific closed areas to protect specific species or habitat. For instance, on the United States West Coast a large Rockfish Conservation Area was created in 2002 prohibiting trawling in most areas of the coast between 75 and 150 fathoms – {{convert|450|to|900|ft|m}} – to protect overfished rockfish species.{{citation |title=Trawl Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) Boundary Modifications Draft Environmental Assessment September 2013, National Marine Fisheries Service Sustainable Fisheries Division Northwest Region|url=https://www.pcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/G6b_RCA_DRAFT_EA_SEPT2013BB.pdf}} In 2018, these closures were revised to allow trawling in some previously closed areas while closing new areas of sensitive habitat to bottom trawling.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-12-26/west-coast-fishery-rebounds-in-rare-conservation-home-run|title=West Coast fishery rebounds in a rare conservation 'home run'|agency=Associated Press|date=2019-12-26|via=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-27|df=mdy-all}}
• The Council of the European Union in 2004 applied "a precautionary approach" and closed the sensitive Darwin Mounds off Scotland to bottom trawling.
• In 2005, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) banned bottom trawling below 1000 meters (3,281 ft) and, in January 2006, completely closed ecologically sensitive areas off Italy, Cyprus, and Egypt to all bottom trawling.
• Norway first recognized in 1999 that trawling had caused significant damage to its cold-water lophelia corals. Norway has since established a program to determine the location of cold-water corals within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) so as to quickly close those areas to bottom trawling.
• Canada has acted to protect vulnerable coral reef ecosystems from bottom trawling off Nova Scotia. The Northeast Channel was protected by a fisheries closure in 2002, and the Gully area was protected by its designation as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) in 2004.
• Australia in 1999 established the Tasmanian Seamounts Marine Reserve to prohibit bottom trawling in the south Tasman Sea. Australia also prohibits bottom trawling in the Great Australian Bight Marine Park off South Australia near Ceduna. In 2004, Australia established the world's largest marine protected area in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, where fishing and other extractive activities are prohibited.
• New Zealand in 2001 closed 19 seamounts within its EEZ to bottom trawling, including in the Chatham Rise, sub-Antarctic waters, and off the east and west coasts of the North Island. New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton announced on 14 February 2006 that a draft agreement had been reached with fishing companies to ban bottom trawling in 30 percent of New Zealand's EEZ, an area of about {{convert|1,200,000|km²|sqmi}} reaching from subantarctic waters to subtropical ones.{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10368258 |title=NZ to close 30pc of waters to trawling - National - NZ Herald News |publisher=Nzherald.co.nz |date=2006-02-14 |access-date=2013-09-09}} But only a small fraction of the area proposed for protection will cover areas actually vulnerable to bottom trawling.{{Cite web |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3766013a6160,00.html |title=New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz |access-date=2006-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041505/http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3766013a6160,00.html |archive-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=dead }}
• Palau has banned all bottom trawling within its jurisdiction and by any Palauan or Palauan corporation anywhere in the world.[http://www.savethehighseas.org/display.cfm?ID=104] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515010559/http://www.savethehighseas.org/display.cfm?ID=104|date=May 15, 2006}}
• The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, announced in early 2006 the formation of the world's first deep-sea marine reserve area. This measure – the Phoenix Islands Protected Area – created the world's third-largest marine protected area and may protect deep sea corals, fish, and seamounts from bottom trawling.{{cite news|url=https://smh.com.au/news/world/kiribati-creates-worlds-first-deepsea-marine-reserve/2006/03/29/1143441214620.html |title=Kiribati creates world's first deep-sea marine reserve - World |newspaper=smh.com.au |date= 2006-03-30|access-date=2013-09-09}} However, the actual boundaries of this reserve and what harvest limitations may occur therein have not been detailed. Moreover, Kiribati currently{{when|date=October 2019}} has only one patrol boat to monitor this proposed region.
• Venezuela was the first country to ban industrial trawling in its territorial waters and EEZ in 2009.{{Cite journal|last=Mendoza|first=Jeremy|title=Rise and fall of Venezuelan industrial and artisanal marine fisheries : 1950-2010 |journal=Fisheries Centre the University of British Columbia Working Paper Series|s2cid=141051731}}{{Cite journal|last=Fischer|first=Johanne|date=2010|title=Review of the implementation of the international plan of action for the conservation and management of sharks|url=http://www.fao.org/tempref/FI/DOCUMENT/COFI/COFI_30/SBD8e.pdf|journal=FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular|volume=1076}}
• Hong Kong passed legislation banning trawling on 18 May 2011 in an effort to restore the territory's devastated fish stocks and marine ecosystem. The ban came into effect on 31 December 2012. The government paid HK$1.72 billion to affected trawlers in a buyout scheme. Persons who contravene the ban can be fined or imprisoned under the Fisheries Protection Ordinance (Cap 171).{{cite web|title=Facts About the Trawling Ban in Hong Kong Waters|url=http://www.wwf.org.hk/en/whatwedo/conservation/marine/sos/abouttrawlban/|publisher=WWF Hong Kong|access-date=27 July 2016}}{{cite web|title=AFCD officers intercept illegal trawler (with photo)|url=http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201607/26/P2016072600978.htm|publisher=Hong Kong Government|date=26 July 2016}}
• Sri Lanka banned trawling in 2017, however, Indian fishermen regularly engage in banned trawling in Sri Lankan waters.{{cite news |last1=Muiz |first1=Sarah |title=Sri Lankan seas still disturbed by Indian bottom trawling menace |url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/news-features/Sri-Lankan-seas-still-disturbed-by-Indian-bottom-trawling-menace/131-268447#:~:text=The%20industrial%20practice%20of%20bottom%20trawling%20by%20Indian,fishing%20practice%20which%20has%20been%20effective%20since%202017. |access-date=9 July 2024 |publisher=Daily Mirror |date=4 October 2023}}

Beyond national jurisdictions, most bottom trawling is unregulated either because there is no Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) with competence to regulate, or else what RFMOs that do exist have not actually regulated. The major exception to this is in the Antarctic region, where the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources regime has instituted extensive bottom trawling restrictions.[http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/E/e_pubs/am/man-ant/p4.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913233502/http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/E/e_pubs/am/man-ant/p4.htm|date=September 13, 2009}}

The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) also recently closed four seamounts and part of the mid-Atlantic Ridge from all fishing, including bottom trawling, for three years. This still leaves most of international waters completely without bottom trawl regulation.

As of May 2007 the area managed under the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) has gained a new level of protection. All countries fishing in the region (accounting for about 25 percent of the global ocean) agreed to exclude bottom trawling on high seas areas where vulnerable ecosystems are likely or known to occur until a specific impact assessment is undertaken and precautionary measures have been implemented. Observers will also be required on all high seas bottom trawlers to ensure enforcement of the regulations.

Palau President Tommy Remengesau has called for a ban on destructive and unregulated bottom trawling beyond national jurisdictions. Palau has led the effort at the United Nations and in the Pacific to achieve a consensus by countries to take this action at an international level.[http://www.palauun.org/news_archive.cfm?news_id=76] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626070249/http://www.palauun.org/news_archive.cfm?news_id=76|date=June 26, 2006}}{{cite web |url=http://www.iisd.ca/vol25/enb2525e.html |title=Earth Negotiations Bulletin - ENB SUMMARY OF THE WORKING GROUP ON MARINE BIODIVERSITY BEYOND AREAS OF NATIONAL JURISDICTION - MONDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2006 |publisher=Iisd.ca |access-date=2013-09-09 |archive-date=2012-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722004448/http://www.iisd.ca/vol25/enb2525e.html |url-status=dead }} Palau has been joined by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu in supporting an interim bottom trawling ban at the United Nations.{{cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0608/S00026.htm |title=Pacific Leaders Back Bottom Trawling Ban | Scoop News |publisher=Scoop.co.nz |access-date=2013-09-09}} The proposal for this ban did not result in any actual legislation and was blocked.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6181396.stm |title=Science/Nature | Ban on 'brutal' fishing blocked |work=BBC News |date=2006-11-24 |access-date=2013-09-09}}

In 2006, New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton promised to support a global ban on bottom trawling if there was sufficient support to make that a practical option. Bottom trawling has been banned in a third of New Zealand's waters (although a large percentage of these areas were not viable for bottom trawling in the first place)

• {{annotated link|Environmental impact of fishing}}
• {{annotated link|Deep Sea Conservation Coalition}} (DSCC)
• {{annotated link|Demersal fish}}
• {{annotated link|Mincarlo (trawler)|Mincarlo}}, a historic sidewinder trawler
• {{annotated link|Fishing dredge}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• National Research Council (US) (2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=orSv2JlXPykC&dq=%22fisheries+science%22&pg=PA78 Effects of Trawling and Dredging on Seafloor Habitats.] National Academies Press. {{ISBN|0-309-08340-0}}

• {{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0012730|pmid=20856885|pmc=2938353|title=Human Activities on the Deep Seafloor in the North East Atlantic: An Assessment of Spatial Extent|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=5|issue=9|pages=e12730|year=2010|last1=Benn|first1=Angela R.|last2=Weaver|first2=Philip P.|last3=Billet|first3=David S. M.|last4=Van Den Hove|first4=Sybille|last5=Murdock|first5=Andrew P.|last6=Doneghan|first6=Gemma B.|last7=Le Bas|first7=Tim|bibcode=2010PLoSO...512730B|doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.05.036|title=Trawling-induced daily sediment resuspension in the flank of a Mediterranean submarine canyon|journal=Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography|volume=104|pages=174–183|year=2014|last1=Martín|first1=Jacobo|last2=Puig|first2=Pere|last3=Palanques|first3=Albert|last4=Ribó|first4=Marta|bibcode=2014DSRII.104..174M|hdl=10261/80451|hdl-access=free}}
• March, E. J. (1953). Sailing Trawlers: The Story of Deep-Sea Fishing with Long Line and Trawl. Percival Marshal and Company. Reprinted by Charles & David, 1970, Newton Abbot, UK. {{ISBN|071534711X}}

• [http://overfishing.org/pages/Satellite_images_from_bottom.php Bottom trawling imagery] Annotated satellite images from a number of bottom trawling activities around the world
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060503035750/http://www.savethehighseas.org/trawling.cfm Deep Sea Conservation Coalition] Campaign for a ban on deep sea bottom trawling
• [https://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/205/en FAO Gear type fact sheets] Gear type fact sheet on various types of bottom trawls
• [https://usa.oceana.org/bottom-trawling Oceana: bottom trawling facts]
• {{cite web

|url=http://earthwatch.unep.net/oceans/oceanfisheries.php

|publisher=UNEP: System-Wide EarthWatch

|title=Oceans and Coastal Areas

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061014005916/http%3A//earthwatch%2Eunep%2Enet/oceans/oceanfisheries%2Ephp

|archive-date= 2006-10-14

}} On the role bottom trawling plays in global fisheries

• [http://home.istar.ca/~gadus/ImpactBiblio.pdf Bibliography of the Effects of Fishing Gear on the Seabed and Benthic Communities]
• [http://www.baconsdozen.co.uk/fishing.htm Pictures of beam trawlers from the east coast of the UK]

{{fishing industry topics}}

{{fisheries and fishing}}

Category:Marine biology

Category:Environmental impact of fishing