Deep-sea fish species tend to grow slowly, mature late and live long, making them exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation. Some of the commercially exploited deep-sea species live up to 50 years and others only reach reproductive maturity after many years. In a comprehensive analysis published online in the journal Marine Policy, marine ecologists, fisheries biologists, economists, mathematicians and international policy experts show that, with rare exceptions, deep-sea fishing is unsustainable. The study on the sustainability of deep-sea fishing, funded mainly by the Lenfest Ocean Program, comes just before the UN decides whether to continue allowing fishing in international waters, what the UN calls the high seas.
Carbon dating of living cold-water coral reefs has revealed that the oldest may have existed for more than 8,000 years. Several of the coral species create complex reefs and ornate forest-like structures that compete with tropical coral systems in size and complexity. In fact, the oldest and tallest reef observed so far is 35 meters high, about 114 feet. These deep-sea ecosystems will take hundreds of years, if not longer, to recover from destructive fishing methods.
The North Atlantic is the area in the world with the most bottom trawling and is mainly exploited by the fishing fleets of the European Union. Don't miss out on our most recent data, findings and survey results at The Rundown. Deep sea fishing is difficult and requires large boats with very heavy gear to reach species that live at depths of up to 2000 m. In addition, temporary and permanent closures of fishing areas can occur when young fish are caught in excess (Little et al.
A team of leading marine scientists from around the world recommends ending most commercial fishing in the deep sea, the largest ecosystem on Earth. In the 1990s, discards amounted to 350,000 tons, of which 200,000 tons were for the Russian fleet in the Barents Sea and 80,000 tons for the Norwegian Sea. Bottom trawling allows for rapid exploitation of fish species and indiscriminately catches any fish found in the trawl path. This historical perspective reveals that the extent and quantity of deep-sea fish extracted from deep ocean depths exceed previous estimates.
There are about 360 species in this group, which extend over a wide depth range of 110 to 7000 m, making them widespread in the depths of the sea. The diversification of deep-sea fishing countries and reported species landings are increasing, while the trend of underreporting decreases during the 1990s and the 2000s. Drazen and Haedrich (201) discovered that, in 41 shallow and deep fish species with sufficient data on life history, there was a consistent tendency to increase longevity, decrease fertility and decrease the potential rate of population increase with depth. The General Assembly urged all fishing countries to manage fish stocks in a sustainable manner and to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from destructive fishing practices, including bottom trawling.
However, in most deep-sea fisheries, trawlers fish outside countries' exclusive economic zones 200 miles away from effective government control. The predator's ability to consume large quantities of fish was born and then prevented from extinction by providing financial subsidies, at least in some areas, to help alleviate the enormous costs of operating such large vessels at sea for long periods of time. It became the model for ships that fished far from ports, where fish stored in ice was normally landed. These areas are more productive and have high amounts of organic matter that fall to the deep seabed (Lutz et al.
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