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The Climate Question: Is bottom trawling for fish bad for the climate?

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23/05/2021 GMT

Is bottom trawling for fish bad for the climate?

BBC World Service - The Climate Question, Is bottom trawling for fish bad for the climate?

Research claims that dragging heavy nets across the ocean floor hastens climate change

Recent research claims bottom trawling has a serious impact on climate change, every year releasing about the same amount of carbon as flying.

More than two thirds of our planet is covered by the oceans, but there’s still much to be uncovered about the role that these watery worlds play in climate change.  
 
But recent scientific research claims that bottom trawling, a method of fishing that involves dragging heavy nets across the seafloor, emits about the same amount of carbon annually as aviation. Seabed sediments, which act as huge carbon sinks, are churned up, resulting in carbon dioxide emissions. So should trawling – commonplace around the globe because of its effectiveness – be reduced? And has the climate change impact of bottom trawling been exaggerated?      
 
Presenters Neal Razzell and Graihagh Jackson are joined by:
 
Dr Enric Sala, explorer in residence, National Geographic
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations
Minna Epps, director, Global Marine and Polar Programme
Domitilla Senni, senior campaigner, MedReAct
 
Producer: Darin Graham
Series producer: Rosamund Jones
Editor: Emma Rippon

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