Trawling

Palermo Galindo

02/13/12

Trawling Off the Face of the Earth (aka “Trawling in my Skin” or “Finally Trawling”)

            I’m not a fisheries major. Indeed, I’m rather hydrophobic when it comes down to it. Open water, the oceans, even aquariums have been known to give me the creeps. However, one thing I am passionate about is biodiversity, and finding a balance between human needs and our duties to the planet. Oh yeah, and good food.

So what global issue could we be facing at this time that so perfectly encompasses all of these conditions? It turns out that we are on the threshold of a crisis, a war being fought on 71% of the world’s surface. The very oceans and their inhabitants are under attack, simply because of our ferocious appetites.

            It’s strange that as a wildlife student, I’m so hung up on fish, and the wellbeing of the oceans that I’m so fearful of. We’re all aware that the rainforests are being demolished, deserts are spreading, and the land is losing its ability to maintain crops. Why throw more worry into the mix? Well, scientists go on about the ice caps melting and the rainforests disappearing in terms of several decades; within our own lifetimes, but far enough on the horizon that we feel confident that somebody will come up with a solution in time.

            Meanwhile, we are being flooded by reports from biologists around the globe, warning that entire populations of fish will be extinct; not in 30 years, not 20 years, but a decade or less. Why? It’s a tricky situation, a combination of our appetites and our methods, joining to create an unholy union of death. Full disclosure, I LOVE seafood, as much as the next guy, and maybe a little more than the guy after him…but even I can’t ignore the guilt when I’m sitting down to a shrimp and crab pasta dinner, knowing that I’m contributing to an unsustainable and deadly harvest.

            We’re human. We want to use things. We want to chop them down to build new things. We want to burn things to power other things to provide energy for yet another line of things. And above all, we want to eat things. This is reasonable, but our methods have gotten out of control. Resource management came about because some individuals rose above the slobbering masses to realize that consuming resources willy-nilly would end in no resources for anybody, given enough time. Animals and plants can regenerate their populations, if we are selective and patient enough to know when to harvest them. However, all too often, we don’t seem to heed that advice…

            When fishing yields near the coasts began to dwindle, humans adapted their technology, and began moving out into the open ocean. Maybe the worst example of our innovation for sheer destruction is trawling nets; deep-sea apparatus that are a mile deep and several miles across, which are dragged through the water, indiscriminately catching sea life. In addition to their haphazard snagging of any creature in their path, they are dragged down with massive rubber weights that crush any reef life in their path. This combination of genocide and habitat destruction is what makes trawling so unforgivable.

            Trawlers go out with target fish in mind, and their nets are designed to maximize the catch of any schools they may encounter. However, once they pull up those nets, they’re not going to have a perfectly tidy package of orange roughy to dump into the hold and move along. They will have to sort through thousands of pounds of “bycatch,” the junk fish that were unlucky enough to be caught in the clutches of the trawl. Their carcasses are tossed off the boat, victims of a needless death. Though the baited hooks of “long-lining” operations are also guilty of such waste, nothing can compare to the sheer numbers of “garbage” fish are caught, suffocated, and tossed away as junk.

            In addition to the massive blow to fish and other wildlife populations, trawler nets have one more mortal blow to the ocean ecosystem. Nets are kept submerged by weights and “rock hopper” wheels, which effectively bulldoze any reefs they come across as they are dragged behind their boats. These rare coral reefs, once untouchable by man, are not only important sources of biodiversity in the oceans, but also nurseries for the populations that the nets alone are coming dangerously close to wiping out. These destructive methods are detrimental to both the breeding population, AND any subsequent generations. This blow to both ends of the lifecycle is why we are seeing such unprecedented declines in fish populations.

            Trawls are bad news. Attitudes need to change, and in many cases they are. In my browsing research of this topic, I saw diagrams illustrating additions to nets that will offer escape routs to some bycatch (turtles especially), but this is not enough. Our methods need to be revolutionized if we are going to enjoy seafood ever again. Imagine a world where only the top 1% can afford to eat something a simple as fish sticks! That is the slippery slope we are heading down, because our demand is causing suppliers to become greedy, and take the easy path to ensure a profitable catch, no ecological costs considered. There is always a way to become more sustainable. Regulation is all well and good, but attitudes need to change, and technology needs to evolve to bring it all together. Biodiversity is a word that precious few of us can appreciate; but the ability to continue consuming catches the attention of more. For lovers of nature and cuisine alike, I hope that some day soon, comprehensive fishing and management techniques unite with the goal of sustaining our ocean life for generations to come.

            More information is available online, on sites such as these:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11206-deepsea-trawling-neither-green-nor-profitable.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/029387_seafood_habitat.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/bottom-trawling/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/18/deep-sea-trawling-coral-reefs