Moratorium on Deep Sea Fisheries?
International fisheries experts favor a ban on deep-sea bottom trawling
Much of the world's fish stocks are overfished or being stretched to the limit. In search of new fishing grounds, fishing fleets therefore increasingly exploit the deep sea. At depths of up to 2000 m, wide bottom trawls are used which alter the delicate ecosystem balance, conservatively speaking, typically end up causing irreparable destruction. Very little is known about the target species, black scabbard, roundnose grenadier and blue ling. International fisheries experts and members of the European parliament are now considering a moratorium on deep sea bottom trawling to give fish stocks and the ecosystem of the deep sea a chance for survival.
In the coastal regions, many species of fish thrive thanks to a plentiful food supply which ensures their survival. Most of the known deep sea species, however, grow slowly, mature late and produce few offspring. Commercial deep sea fishing therefore contributes to the quick depletion of slow-growing species. In addition, sensitive habitats such as coral reefs are destroyed by the use of heavy nets dragged along the ocean floor.
"Even today, the deep sea is a little-known and fascinating habitat. The fragile ecosystems of cold-water coral reefs or seamounts host fish species that cannot withstand the effects of intense fishing. It is still not sufficiently understood how these species overcome the deep cold, darkness and lack of food. What we do know, however, is that some populations living on seamounts were nearly exterminated by a few fishing trips," says fisheries expert Dr. Rainer Froese from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
"Deep sea fishing may also be less useful in some cases, economically speaking. The ex-vessel prices for deep sea fish are similar to those of other fish, such as cod, whereas the costs are often significantly higher,” adds Dr. Jörn Schmidt of the Department of Economics at the University of Kiel. "That makes these fisheries less profitable."
Both scientists conduct their research at the Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean", jointly with a multidisciplinary team of experts in sustainable fisheries management. How can the oceanic resources be used at a sustainably? What are the fisheries management concepts of the future? These are just some questions addressed by scientists from the fields of fisheries biology and economics together with oceanographers, lawyers and coastal researchers. The focus is on models and analyses that take into account both economic and biological aspects, and involve the interaction of several species and changes in the ecosystem as a whole.
Contact:
Jan Steffen (Communication & Media), Phone: +49-431 600 2811, presse(at)geomar.de Dr. Jörn Schmidt (Institute of Economics, Kiel University), jschmidt(at)economics.uni-kiel.de
Friederike Balzereit (Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean", public relations), +49-431 880-3032, fbalzereit(at)uv.uni-kiel.de
