Talking this week Click a picture to enhance it. Blue text = a clickable link.Newshub, one of New Zealand's most prominent news sites, is talking commercial fishing this week ‒ especially bottom trawling and what it does to coral. So I'm talking about that too! The quiddity of bottom trawlingOn The Fishing Website, Mokomo Burgess and Ethan Neville ask Hawke's Bay fisherman Karl Warr about bottom trawling. which, 'in short, involves dragging weighted nets across the seafloor. The nets themselves, however, are not the sole cause of damage – well, at least not to the seafloor. At either side of the net are steel trawl doors, and these skid across the sand, or whatever else makes up the benthic environment, as they are pulled along the bottom. 'As Karl told us, “That piece of contact might only be six inches wide by six inches long, but it might be pressing down with about a 100kg or more of weight. So if you go diving after a trawler has been through, you’ll often see trawl marks left behind.” 'Two ropes, called sweeps, are attached to the doors and these also drag across the bottom in front of the net. They act to herd the fish into the net, much like you would sheep into a pen. The fish that find themselves in the net are then dragged to the surface to be processed – and that is bottom trawling in a nutshell. ' What's so crucial about coral
Report'A just-released report from New Zealand's Department of Conservation (Doc) shows the biggest problem area lies in the northeast Chatham rise area, where 93 tonnes of coral alone has been dredged up, typically during bottom trawls targeting orange roughy. '"The report confirms what we already know, which is that bottom trawling is a hugely destructive fishing method that has an awful impact on the marine environment," Hooper said. 'On its website, Seafood New Zealand claims companies trawl in featureless areas meaning their nets don't catch coral and disturbance is minimal. 'But Hooper is sceptical. "You're not going to be dragging up almost 90 tonnes of coral if you're simply bottom trawling on muddy and sediment seafloor," she said. ' Greenpeace is offering a petitionGreenpeace says in an email to members: 'These numbers are shocking and show exactly why we’re campaigning to get bottom trawling banned from where it does the most damage. Seamounts are known habitats for rare, endemic species of corals and sponges, and year after year they’re being pummelled by bottom trawlers. The evidence is in this newly released data. 'Right now Rachel Brooking, the Minister for Oceans & Fisheries, is considering extra protections for the deep sea, and given all the evidence before us - it’s essential that she commits to banning bottom trawling from seamounts. 'Doing so will protect coral, and the habitats it creates for all manner of other marine life. We are in a biodiversity crisis, and to turn the tide - we have to protect vital ecosystems like these from destructive practices. If you'd like to sign the petition a click here will take you to the approriate place on the Greenpeace website. Not easyQuestions such as whether or not to ban a particular fishing method always bring me a dilemma. I want to protect the natural world to ensure that we will have it forever but I also know full well that we have to feed the human world. I've heard the view espoused quite often recently that we need to harvest the land less and the oceans more. If you care to use the comment function on this website, I'd be interesed to know which way you'll go on bottom trawling. For long term reasons I decided to sign the petition. □ John McInnes Friday 30 June 2023 ##########
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