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Many people—seafood lovers and ocean enthusiasts alike—are aware that bottom trawling damages seafloor habitat. But when you see this damage first-hand – when you see the seafloor actually plowed like a field – the impact really hits you. At least, it really hit the scientists who saw this damage during the Finding Coral Expedition, a trip developed and led by my organization, Living Oceans Society, which is based in Sointula, British Columbia. Our mission was to increase our understanding of ecologically critical deep sea corals that exist in Canada’s Pacific waters. We met our mission, but on the way we found disturbing evidence of the impacts of North America’s most damaging fishing gear.

Bottom trawls are basically large nets that are pulled across the seafloor. The nets are made of thick twine and they are weighted down and protected with rubber, plastic, and metal attachments. They need to be made of thick twine, and they need to be protected, because they encounter all sorts of stuff on the sea floor, like rocks, corals, sponges, and other parts of the seafloor habitat. These things would damage the net if it weren’t protected. But since they are made of tough stuff, they roll right over or through these things instead. Some of this stuff they catch and bring to the surface, where it is thrown back overboard along with the rest of the unwanted ‘bycatch’ fish and invertebrates.

Because bottom trawls plow right over and through seafloor habitat, and because they catch so much ‘bycatch’ that is thrown back dead or dying, bottom trawling is widely understood to have some of the worst environmental impacts of any fishing method out there. In fact, two recent studies, including one co-conducted by my organization, have shown that fisheries professionals (including fishermen) rank bottom trawl as the most damaging fishing method in both the United States and in Canada.

After the Living Oceans Society returned from the Finding Coral Expedition, we made a video about bottom trawling. Please check it out to learn more about bottom trawling, and the threat that it poses to important fish habitat. And if you want to avoid eating fish caught with unsustainable methods, please check out sources like the Blue Ocean Institute’s Seafood Guide for information on choosing sustainable seafood in the U.S.,and SeaChoice for information on sustainable seafood in Canada.

p.s. For clarity: do not confuse ‘trawling’ with “trolling’. Trolling is a fishing method that catches fish with hooks, and it is generally considered to have a lower environmental impact than bottom trawling.