New peer-reviewed study: Bottom trawling in Europe’s waters costs society up to €16 billion annually — mostly due to climate impacts
National Geographic Pristine SeasPeer-Reviewed Publication
The first study to measure the full economic value of bottom trawling in Europe’s waters calculates that the destructive fishing practice imposes up to €16 billion annually in net costs to society. Pooling data from more than 4,900 European-flagged bottom trawlers — together spending more than 5.5 million hours fishing on average each year in the waters of the European Union, the UK, Norway and Iceland — the research demonstrates that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from disturbed seafloor sediments are a major contributor to these costs. The study concludes that the net costs of bottom trawling to society are 90 times greater than the €180 million in profits raked in by the fishing industry each year.
- Journal
- Ocean & Coastal Management