Final adoption of the underwater deforestation which took place from 800 to 2,000 meters without any legal constraint
The threshold of 800 meters selected for the prohibition of bottom trawling has its origins in the campaign organized by the NGO BLOOM fighting hard for 8 years against this disastrous method of fishing on the marine ecosystem. The success of the online comic made by illustrator Penelope Bagieu has enabled educate thousands of users who have shared information on social networks.
With more than 900,000 online signatures against the deep trawling the BLOOM Association subsequently prompted stores the retail sales to drop deep species. The fleet Intermarché has also agreed in January 2014 to stop trawling beyond 800 meters depth.
A major milestone for European sanctuaries rich deep oceans of an exceptional biodiversity and fragile
Fishing in deep water affects species such as rock grenadier or blue ling, classified as endangered or vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. According to Ifremer, “the major disadvantage of bottom trawling is the lack of selectivity.
For this machine, consisting of a towed net by a ship, simultaneously capture several species of different dimensions and morphology. Although it does not penetrate the sediment, it deteriorates the habitats and organisms placed on the bottom. The deep trawling is recognized by many scientists as a destructive fishing technique which generates some 20 to 40% bycatch, unwanted.
But many deepwater fish take years to mature to reproduce and are particularly threatened, like the deep-sea sharks. In 2015, of Glasgow University researchers have shown that over fishing is deeper, it causes damage, without significant economic gains. They therefore advocate a ban on trawling beyond 600 meters. But meanwhile struggling to push the limit of 200 meters, the first associations to savor this victory so long awaited.
