Bottom trawling devastates seafloor ecosystems and kills billions of marine animals annually, including species with significant evidence of sentience caught as bycatch.
Deep sea trawling causes massive bycatch mortality of sentient animals — fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans — as incidental catch in nets targeting commercial species. The scale is almost incomprehensible and largely hidden from consumers. Reducing bycatch through gear selectivity and fishing area restrictions would prevent enormous quantities of animal suffering.