Seabed trawling found to be a major source of global CO2 emissions

Bottom trawling releases around 340 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, according to the first study to estimate these emissions. That is nearly 1 per cent of all global CO2 emissions, a major contribution that has been overlooked until now.

Trawling involves dragging weighted nets across the seafloor to catch bottom-dwelling fish, crustaceans and shellfish. This practice is widely used around the world, but it is controversial because the fishing gear damages seafloor environments such as cold water reefs, where some corals may be thousands of years old.

Read the full post at New Scientist.