Bottom Trawling and Other

Destructive Fishing Techniques

Melissa and Jessica

c
 Bottom Trawling

c Bottom trawls are a type of mobile fishing gear consisting of

very large nets that are dragged on the seafloor to benthic
organisms living on or close to the seafloor.

c Two types of bottom trawling: Benthic and Demersal

c 
 is towing a net at the very bottom of the ocean

c u  
is towing a net just above the benthic zone
 Bottom Trawling

c Bottom trawling has been used for over a century

c The attachment of large, heavy roller and rockhopper gear to

bottom trawl nets, in combination with more powerful fishing
boats and other technical innovations, now allow access to
virtually all of the continental shelves and deeper continental
slopes, including areas with structurally complex habitat.
c There is heavy fishing in the North Sea and the Grand Banks

c It has a negative impact on coral ´Lophelia pertusaµ that is home

to a wide range of deep sea creatures.
 Gffects of Bottom Trawling!

c There is mounting scientific evidence that trawling in complex

habitats is one of the most destructive types of bottom fishing
because it:
c 1. Removes species that live on the seafloor,

c 2. Homogenizes habitat, smoothing the sediment and breaking

down complex structures,
c 3. Reduces overall habitat complexity, and

c 4. It can also permanently change the types of species that live in

areas of the seafloor.
c 5. Trawling also results in huge amounts of bycatch
 Resuspension

c Bottom trawling stirs up sediment

c Suspended particle clouds can drift with the current for tens of
kilometers

c These particles introduce a turbidity which decreases light levels at

the bottom and can affect kelp production and growth of other
organisms

c Phosphorus is often found in high concentrations in sift sediments,

therefore resuspending nutrients solids like these can introduce
oxygen demand into the water column and cause oxygen deficient
dead zones.

c Reintroducing sediment into the water column can also create

harmful algal blooms.
The Before and After
More Destruction
 Dynamite Fishing

c Dynamite fishing is the use of explosives to stun and kill

fish.

c This illegal practice destroys the underlying fragile habitat.

c It is more commonly associated with tropical regions.

c Commercial dynamite or homemade bombs are used. These

sometimes explode without warning and kill or injure
surrounding people.
 Dynamite Fishing

c The underwater shock waves from the explosion stun the

fish and rupture their swim bladders. Some of the fish float
to the surface but most sink to the ocean floor.

c This technique not only kill fish, but also other marine
organisms in the area, and coral reefs.

c There is no natural recovery of reefs.

c The reefs can recover in 5-10 years from a single blast, while
wide spread blasting causes continuous unstable rubble.
Dynamite Fishing
References

c http://www.mcbi.org/what/wha
t_pdfs/Trawl_Impacts_%20on_C
orals.pdf

c http://www.fishingnj.org/jpegs/
smaltrwlsml.jpg