Nature - Bottom Trawling Produces As Much CO2 As Global Aviation Industry

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Seafood has generally been considered part of a low-carbon diet, but new research points to a surprising link between fishing and carbon emissions. Bottom trawling — a widespread fishing practice — emits as much carbon dioxide as airplanes do annually, a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature found.

Bottom trawling, which entails dragging a weighted net along the ocean floor to catch low-lying seafood such as shrimp, crab, and flounder, is notorious for wreaking havoc on ecosystems. In addition to the species the trawler targets, turtles and other marine life can get caught in the large nets and can die as a result.

On top of that, we’re learning that trawlers also release significant carbon dioxide emissions into the ocean by disrupting carbon-rich sediments when they rake the seafloor. Countries have an opportunity to tackle this newfound source of emissions and protect marine species later this year. World leaders are expected to convene in Kunming, China, for the most significant United Nations biodiversity negotiations in a decade. Facing an escalating sixth mass extinction, a leading bloc of nations is calling for the conservation of 30 percent of land and 30 percent of oceans by 2030.

This new study may help inform those negotiations. It shows that protecting biodiversity doesn’t have to mean cutting off seafood supplies — and that fishing sector emissions can be slashed at the same time. “Usually we’ll talk about these things separately,” said Rashid Sumaila, a professor of fisheries economics at the University of British Columbia who was not involved in the study. “Adding the three together is new. They are all actually interconnected, and they are all pointing to the same thing: We’re putting too much pressure on our natural systems.”

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https://www.vox.com/22335364/climate-change-ocean-fishing-trawling-shrimp-carbon-footprint

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