Industrial bottom trawling often undermines food security and nutrition in coastal communities, a new global study has found.
The study, The impact of bottom trawling on food security, led by Dr Anna Schuhbauer and Professor Ussif Rashid Sumaila at the University of British Columbia and conducted in partnership with the Transform Bottom Trawling (TBT) Coalition and Blue Ventures, found a consistent pattern of what the researchers describe of ‘negative competition’, where industrial trawlers displace small-scale fisheries and degrade habitats.
It analysed nine case studies across Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas, to determine the social and economic consequences of bottom trawling, and found that almost all bottom trawling takes place in national waters, often in coastal areas that are also key fishing grounds for small-scale and local fishers.
Bottom trawling
Bottom trawling currently accounts for around a quarter (26%) of global marine fish catches, but despite its scale, it ‘frequently reduces the availability, affordability and accessibility of fish for local populations’, according to the study.
“The key question is not how much fish is caught globally, but who actually benefits from it,” Professor Sumaila commented. “Bottom trawling may deliver high headline catch figures, but it often does so at the expense of access to affordable, nutritious fish for coastal communities, particularly in regions where fish is a dietary cornerstone.
“This research provides clear evidence that how we fish matters as much as how much we fish, and aligning fisheries governance with food security and social equity is essential if we are to meet global development and sustainability goals.”
Case study
The study also indicates that strong enforcement of trawling restrictions can restore local fisheries, referencing a case study in southern Brazil, where enforcement of a 12-nautical-mile trawling exclusion zone – rather than narrower 3–5 nautical-mile limits – has led to improved fish stocks and reduced conflict between industrial and small-scale fleets.
“The coast of Rio Grande do Sul is one of the most productive ecosystems along the Brazilian coast, supporting key stocks for small-scale fisheries,” added Ademilson Zamboni, vice-president of Oceana in Brazil. “For decades, industrial trawl fleets operated there with little control, contributing to stock declines. With their displacement beyond the 12-nautical-mile limit, there are strong signs of recovery. This shift is already benefiting local artisanal fisheries.” Read more here.
