Source: Stuff.co.nz
Author: Charlie Mitchell
Trawlers hunting for fish in the dark, cold depths of the sea may be doing irreversible damage to vast coral reefs on the seafloor.
Findings from New Zealand researchers have some environmentalists pushing for a ban on bottom trawling, the primary method of catching deep sea fish, likening its impact on seabed wildlife to the destruction of kauri forests.
An industry representative, however, said the findings were incomplete and New Zealand’s deep sea fishing industry was world-leading on environmental measures.
Bottom trawling is the most common method of fishing internationally, but little is known about its long-term impact on the array of plant, fish and invertebrate life on the seabed.
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