Greenpeace International is campaigning for an immediate halt to high seas bottom trawling. If allowed to continue, the bottom trawlers of the high seas will destroy deep sea species, before we have even discovered much of what is out there. Think of it as driving a huge bulldozer through a lush and richly populated forest and being left with a flat, featureless desert. Think of it as beef farming by dragging a net across entire fields, cities and forests to catch a few cows. It's like blowing up Mars before we get there.
Incredibly, there are more maps of the moon than of the Earth's sea bed, and it has only really been over the last 30 years that we have got to know about the rich and complex world of the deep ocean. We have been fascinated by the discovery of water on Mars and its potential for life - but there is underwater life right here that could disappear before we even explore it.
If you would like to more about the destruction—and read sientific proof—done by bottom trawling, then check out and download (pdf) the Deep Sea Coalition’s “Bottom Trawling: RED HERRINGS”
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), a combined force of more than 40 conservation groups from around the world, is calling on the United Nations General Assembly to secure a moratorium on high-seas bottom trawling until a regime to protect deep-sea fisheries and biodiversity is developed and implemented. In an effort to fight this conservation measure, the fishing industry has made numerous fictitious claims aimed at downplaying the detrimental effects of bottom trawling on deep-sea ecosystems. These claims are easily refuted by the staggering amount of scientific evidence demonstrating the harmful impacts and unfortunate expansion of the bottom-trawling fishery from the shallow continental shelf to deeper and more distant waters beyond national jurisdiction. This document presents a compilation of the claims offered by the fishing industry, each followed by a powerful rebuttal based on the best available science.
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Article comments
1 - Tan The Man
This needs to be stopped, but the international community has a hard time coming to a consensus regarding fishing and ocean policies.
2 - D L Ennis
That's very true. Thanks for being the lone commenter this one Tan!
D L
3 - Marcia L. Neil
Perhaps the trend is related to the use of the term "Mother Earth" and the 'dilation and curettage' method of maintaining uterine health; and how many human mothers are believed to lack intelligence or education when queried about circumcision for their young sons or a use of milk from other species as food. Will some deep-sea chemical or tissue be discovered which will restore human reproductive logic?