Does trawling destroy marine habitats and biodiversity?

Question

Does trawling destroy marine habitats and biodiversity?

Answer 1

Yes, that's why it's always been a questionable way of fishing.  You don't just go after the fish, you net everything that is in the way.  You just get all that is present under the water, breaking up coral reefs, scooping up fish that are not edible, disturbing all sealife that is on the botton of the sea floor.  Everything is brough up onto the boat and picked through and the unwanted items are just thrown back into the ocean, dead.  They just kill animals and plant life for no good reason other than it's a faster way to fish.  It destroys habitats and causes chaos under the ocean surface.

Answer 2

Trawling is horrifically damaging to the ocean floor, bio-diversity, coral reefs and other habitats.  Oceana, a nonprofit conservation organization, had this to say on bottom trawling:

"Bottom trawling is a specific type of fishing gear that destroys marine biodiversity and threatens commercial and non-commercial fish species. Bottom trawling is an indiscriminate method of fishing using large, heavy nets that drag along the ocean floor smashing into everything in their path, including fragile deep-sea corals and anemones, and catching a wide array of fish species of all ages and other marine species."

Numerous countries have banned this practice and are working towards developing methods to restore areas decimated by bottom trawling.  It is thought that as much as 90% of the ocean's "inshore" habitats have been damaged by trawling.

Answer 3

Yeah it does , like taking a rake to the ocean floor , ripping up everything indiscriminately.

The jokes on the people eating the food , polluted with mercury and other toxic foodstuffs

Answer 4

yes because it destroys the coral reefs where fish and other marine organisms live. when i was young we had a film viewing of means of fishing that destroy the ocean and one of them is trawling.

Answer 5

What a coincidence!  I just watched a short video clip on trawlers destroying the bottom of the seas.  I think it was either on CNN internet site, or MSN news site.  Take a look!

To answer your question - yes.  Trawling takes everything from the bottom of the ocean - coral reefs, shell fish, plants, dolphins, sea lions, etc.  And it's destroying the habitat.  They take all the life and choose what fish they want, and throw the rest overboard - usually dead creatures.

Answer 6

Of course! Next to long-line fishing, it is responsible for the most by-catching of fish and other ocean species. It has been known to kill sharks, sea turtles, and many other critically endangered species. Go to the IUCN red list to find out more.

Answer 7

it certainly can if done wrong