Scientists Condemn Deepsea Trawling

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http://www.enn.com/news/2004-03-11/s_13264.asp

 

Thursday, March 11, 2004

Adapted by Suzanne Ubick and Kathleen M. Wong,

California Academy of Sciences

 

Scientists Condemn Deepsea Trawling

 

Coldwater corals, plain Cinderellas to their flashy

tropical sisters, are being destroyed before arriving

at the scientific ball.

 

A statement released simultaneously at a meeting of

the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Seattle,

Washington, conference of the American Association for

the Advancement of Science, urged a halt to deep-sea

bottom trawling. Altogether, 1,136 scientists from 69

countries testified to the need for global protection

of the coldwater coral forests recently discovered

along places such as Japan, Alaska, Sweden, and

Mauritania.

 

Slow-growing, coral " forests " probably live for

centuries, making it difficult for them to recover

from disturbance. Heavily-weighted trawl nets

essentially bulldoze the sea bottom, producing barren

wastes of calcium rubble. About 95 percent of

bottom-dwelling fish like flounders are taken by only

13 countries. Biologists say it is not too late for

this small group to establish a moratorium on trawling

coldwater coral systems to permit the development of

sustainable harvest methods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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