U.S. Move Signals Hope for Saving Marine Habitats
The Washington Times › February 21, 2005
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Summary
Seeking to protect deep-sea coral beds and other sensitive fish habitat, a U.S. federal fishing council banned bottom trawling this month over more than 370,000 square miles off Alaska's Aleutian Islands, the largest such action taken anywhere in the world.
In bottom trawling, fishing boats drag huge nets and steel plates along the ocean floor for miles in very deep water near mountains known as seamounts that rise from the sea floor, hunting species such as fluke, cod and mackerel. The nets catch everything in their path, digging out deep-sea corals and sponge forests that scientists think may be essential to the ecosystem.See the full content of this document
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U.S. Move Signals Hope for Saving Marine Habitats
"Bottom trawling is recognized as the most destructive fishing activity," said Karen Sack, ocean-policy adviser for Greenpeace International. "When a bottom trawl comes across corals, the sea floor is just snagged and destroyed."
Scientists long have known about corals and sponges in shallow tropical waters, but until rece...See the full content of this document
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