Deep-sea commercial fishing may have much deeper effects than previously thought, harming fish populations a kilometre below the deepest reach of fishing trawlers, a new British study shows.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B., compared data from the Northeast Atlantic from two different periods, before and after the commercial fishery for deep-sea species took off.
They unexpectedly found that deep-sea fish numbers down to 2500 metres – a kilometre below the deepest reach of fishing trawlers – were lower in the later 1997 to 2002 period. Not only this, but target species and non-target species were both affected and in much deeper parts of the ocean.
According to the researchers’ press release, “fisheries managers must now take into account adverse ecosystem effects, not just the abundance of the fish stocks being targeted and trawling may need to be restricted more than it is now”.
This study adds to the growing body of evidence indicating that deep-water fisheries are unsustainable, the environmentalist organisation Seas At Risk commented, “and underlines Seas At Risk’s view that most if not all of these fisheries should be closed”.