Bottom-trawling – regarded as one of the most-destructive fishing methods – could be largely replaced in European Union fisheries by far less-aggressive, readily-available fishing gears, according to a new report published by ocean protection organizations Seas at Risk and Oceana.
The report, “Exploring Alternatives to Europe’s Bottom Trawl Fishing Gears,” found that bottom trawling is the main fishing method used across Europe, accounting for 32 precent of total E.U. landings, or 7.3 million metric tons (MT). But the practice is responsible for 93 percent of all reported discards, equating to 1 million MT between 2015 and 2019.
Replacing bottom trawls with any of the 25 other types of gear commonly used by E.U. fishing fleets, such as purse-seines,