“The amount of carbon released by bottom trawling into the atmosphere each year is estimated to double the annual emissions from fuel combustion of the entire global fishing fleet—about 4 million vessels.
“We have long known that dragging heavy fishing nets—some as large as ten 747 jets—across the ocean floor destroys sea life and habitats,” said Dr. Trisha Atwood of Utah State University and National Geographic Pristine Seas.
“Only recently, we have discovered that bottom trawling also unleashes plumes of carbon, which otherwise would be safely stored for millennia in the ocean floor. Our study is the very first to show that over half the carbon released by bottom trawling eventually escapes into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide over the span of about ten years, contributing to global warming. Much like destroying forests, scraping up the seafloor causes irreparable harm to the climate, society and wildlife.””
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“The amount of carbon released by bottom trawling into the atmosphere each year is estimated to double the annual emissions from fuel combustion of the entire global fishing fleet—about 4 million vessels.
“We have long known that dragging heavy fishing nets—some as large as ten 747 jets—across the ocean floor destroys sea life and habitats,” said Dr. Trisha Atwood of Utah State University and National Geographic Pristine Seas.
“Only recently, we have discovered that bottom trawling also unleashes plumes of carbon, which otherwise would be safely stored for millennia in the ocean floor. Our study is the very first to show that over half the carbon released by bottom trawling eventually escapes into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide over the span of about ten years, contributing to global warming. Much like destroying forests, scraping up the seafloor causes irreparable harm to the climate, society and wildlife.””