Marine Animals

Trawl Fishing and Seabed Destruction

Bottom trawling destroys complex seabed habitats including cold-water coral reefs that support thousands of species and provide essential fish nursery habitat.

Key Facts

Bottom trawling affects an estimated 14 to 15 million square kilometers of seabed annually
Cold-water coral reefs that take centuries to form can be destroyed in a single trawl pass
The EU has committed to phasing out bottom trawling in protected marine areas by 2030
Alternative fishing methods including traps and longlines cause far less seabed damage

Welfare Considerations

Bottom trawling causes mass mortality and habitat destruction for countless benthic organisms including corals sponges worms molluscs and crustaceans. While individual welfare of sessile organisms is less clear, the destruction of entire communities and the fish nursery habitat they provide has cascading welfare effects for mobile animals that depend on these ecosystems. The scale and pace of seabed destruction is ecologically catastrophic.

What You Can Do

Support political campaigns to ban bottom trawling in protected marine areas
Choose seafood caught with traps longlines or pole-and-line methods over trawled products
Advocate for expansion of marine protected areas that exclude destructive fishing methods
Support organizations campaigning for international seabed protection agreements