EU, Canada unwilling to stop Bottom Trawling

The EU and Canada are currently sabotaging a planned moratorium on bottom trawling, probably one of the most destructive yet comparably unproductive practices of the fishing industry.

BBC.co.uk

With many continental fish stocks in steep decline, some fleets have adopted bottom trawling as a way to keep supplies flowing; even so, it accounts for less than 1% of the total global fish catch.

If they destroy natural resources, they will build their own tomb

Rémi Parmentier, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition
Powerful boats tow nets which extend to the sea floor; on the end of the net is a heavy roller or plough which keeps the net in contact with the bottom.

This ensures that any fish in the vicinity are caught, but so is everything else.

A report compiled last year for IUCN, the World Conservation Union, and other environmental groups concluded that bottom trawling is "...highly destructive to the biodiversity associated with seamounts and deep-sea coral ecosystems and... likely to pose significant risks to this biodiversity, including the risk of species extinction."

The EU's stance is, of course, doubly despicable because these industries are operating at a loss, making aliving off subsidies, which means that EU taxpayers are contributing to the destruction of the oceans whether they like it or not (bureaucracies cannot be ousted byvote out and suggesting otherwise amounts to fascism at the very least ).

alternative link

on fishing subsidies in general

Canadian perspective


last but not least: an online petition for all of you who don't fear being confronted with your fundamentalist views on ecology in the brave new world of tomorrow

Online Petition - EU
Online Petition - Canada


PS: to generate some fuss around here (fragile earth) and even get the odd reply i'll have to note that G.W. Bush is supporting the moratorium. kudos, nice to see that the world isn't all black&white, is it?

[edit on 16-11-2006 by Long Lance]