Why You Need To Stop Deep Sea Fishing?
When the cod, salmon, halibut, and tuna fisheries collapsed, the commercial fishing industry turned to deep sea fishing. Far away from the coast line, the crew would descend a heavy trawl to the ocean floor. The ship would then drag the trawl across the floor of the ocean, racking up everything in its way.
Various animals, including different types of fish, skates and crabs, would be caught in the trawl. Coral reefs and endangered species are also trapped in the trawl. Extended sections of coral can be fractured and completely destroyed. The trawl is indiscriminate.
This technique is called bottom trawling, and is widely practiced in commercial fisheries today. Why? Supplies of normal fish, such as cod, salmon and halibut, have declined. The fishing industry is looking for another way to catch fish. Bottom trawling is easy, and effective.
Deep sea fishing, although a commercial success, is an environmental and social failure. Because of the trawl’s indiscriminate destruction and trapping, marine ecosystems are suffering. Since the widespread implementation of deep sea fishing, some marine populations have fallen to 2% of their original size.
Jennifer Devine, a researcher from Memorial University of Newfoundland, is appalled by the findings of her study. She examined five different seabed species: blue hake, roundnose grenadier, onion-eyed grenadier, spinytail skate, and spiny eel.
Between 1978 and 1994, 16 years and roughly one generation, populations of these species fell by 87% to 98%. The five species are all now classified as critically endangered. According to mathematical projections, if deep sea fishing continues at the same rate, these species will go extinct within the next 50 years.
Why are fish populations declining so rapidly? Devine found that these five species reproduced and matured more slowly than previous generations. They do not attain sexual maturity until very late in life. This is highly abnormal. Consequently, the populations are not increasing as quickly as they should be.
Furthermore, these critically endangered species likely suffer from the Allee effect. When populations decline, the fish become more and more spread out. It becomes harder and harder for each individual to find a mate. The rate of population growth declines.
There are other consequences of deep sea fishing. Bottom trawling disturbs the sediments on the ocean floor. Trails of mud cloud the water for kilometers, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching kelp and algae. If kelp and algae do not thrive, species that rely on them for nutrition will suffer as well.
The sediments of the ocean floor also trap many pollutants, including DDT and PCB, both fat-soluble toxins. When the ocean bed is disturbed by the trawl, these pollutants float back into the ocean water. They enter the bodies of small organisms, which are then eaten by larger organisms. The poisons accumulate in the food chain.
This accumulation of toxins is called biomagnification. Biomagnification results high amounts of toxins in big fish such as halibut and salmon. This decreases their reproductive success. Furthermore, when we consume halibut or salmon for dinner, the toxins penetrate our bodies.
Deep sea fishing is clearly a dangerous, extremely harmful practice. It must be stopped.
