The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling
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The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling
Bycatch
Up to 75% of the total catch, known as by-catch is discarded, dumped back at sea, dead for the most part. This might even include sharks, certainly the smaller ones such as young Tope or Dogfish, mammals, dolphins and turtles.
Vegetation destruction
Coral destruction
Coral is found all around the world, much is still undiscovered. All coral is already under threat from global warming. The “white sand” beaches of Western Scotland are coral. It takes tens of years to grow and is smashed and destroyed in seconds by bottom trawling.
Carbon release
Watch the video again. Sediment disturbance is one of the appalling effects of bottom trawling. Ocean floor sediment stores billions of tonnes of carbon. Bottom trawling releases that carbon.
Breeding ground destruction
The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling
The Appalling Effects of Bottom Trawling
Earth and Leaf Editorial
This is the story of the appalling effects of bottom trawling. The film extract can be downloaded on the right (rather than an article). It is the undewater equivalent of deforestation to grow Soya beans.
Links to Other Relevant Stories
Thankyou for watching and reading. There are many more articles in the Earth and Leaf Library.
Iain Dunn
Founder of Earth and Leaf Community Interest Company. Lifelong career as a livestock farming expert backed by an education in agricultural sciences and economics. Now a conservationist, researcher and sustainability campaigner.