How will restricting bottom trawling help commercial and recreational fishermen?
Restricting bottom trawling in complex habitats promotes sustainable fisheries. The issue is not whether to stop fishing, but whether to allow use of a type of gear as destructive as large roller and rockhopper trawls. The same fish may be caught by hook and line or by fish trap without causing the widespread flattening of habitat or changes in species composition that bottom trawling can lead to. Unlike some areas of sand and mud, areas of three-dimensional, structurally complex habitat do not remain productive after decades of trawling. It is critical that remaining pristine areas of structurally complex habitat be protected from damage by large rollers and rockhoppers. Stopping trawling in areas that have already been altered will allow for recovery to begin. Protecting structurally complex habitat would result in more fish for both fishermen and fish consumers, a richer diversity of species, and a healthier marine ecosystem.
