In order to preserve marine ecosystems and ensure the long-term viability of fisheries, there is an urgent need for sustainable fishing practices and innovation. This is underscored by the recent study ‘Exploring the Viability of Innovative Fishing Technologies’, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA).
The pivotal study delves into the damaging environmental and socioeconomic impacts of fishing practices, particularly bottom trawling, and examines promising alternatives that could transform the industry. The European Science-Media Hub interviewed study author François Bastardie, senior researcher in marine fisheries.
Why is it important to consider other fishing technologies as alternatives to bottom trawling?
François Bastardie: Among the different fishing techniques, bottom trawling is one that has a significant impact on marine ecosystems. This method involves large nets dragged across the seafloor, leading to environmental changes and reduced biodiversity.
The initial trawling has the most damaging effect on the benthic community of animals (sometimes called “the animal forest”), disrupting the ecosystem’s functioning. As a result, the ecosystem likely becomes less resilient to external factors such as pollution, climate change, and invasive species.
However, alternative fishing techniques have the potential to target the same species without causing such widespread damage. They offer hope for maintaining the resilience of a diverse marine environment. By prioritising these sustainable fishing practices, we can ensure long-term fishing opportunities while safeguarding the health of our seas.
What’s the environmental impact of bottom trawling in marine protected areas (MPAs)?
François Bastardie: Marine protected areas (MPAs) are specific areas designated to protect sensitive habitats and vulnerable species, typically with no direct commercial interest. These areas play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and preventing irreversible changes in marine ecosystems. Bottom trawling in such areas changes the animal community toward simplified ecological functioning while impairing long-term fishing opportunities. This runs against the goal of maintaining the resilience of the exploited seas.
Safeguarding areas of high biodiversity provides essential ecosystem services to society, including their contribution to fisheries.
What are some of the most promising alternatives, e.g. innovative fishing technologies identified in your research?
François Bastardie: The study reviewed some on-the-shelf innovations; they show potential for reducing the impact of bottom trawling on the seabed. For example, fishing trawl gears using otter boards with more lift and less drag force, or ‘precision fishing’, which uses artificial intelligence for making the trawl more selective. Using a semi-pelagic trawl with ‘flying doors’ will remove the sediment plume induced by the doors of a conventional trawl (although this sediment plume helps to maintain catch rates).
How feasible is it to use these innovative technologies in European fisheries?
François Bastardie: Unfortunately, there is a potential loss in catch rates: the study did not find bottom trawling innovations that will not affect the catch efficiency and, therefore, the profitability of bottom trawling as nowadays used by European fisheries. Currently, ‘precision fishing’ alone, in the way it is being developed, does not seem enough to reduce contact with the seabed. Given this potential loss in catch rates, any beneficial gear modifications may further face resistance to implementation.
As with any other industry, there will likely be no uptake by the fishing sector running bottom trawl if the cleaner technology does not make the fishery more profitable than the status quo (also given the upfront investment needed to implement and upscale the innovation).
It may be worthwhile to consider excluding bottom trawling from certain marine protected areas, while continuing research efforts on trawling-related technologies to determine the maximum acceptable loss of catch rate for fishers, balanced against the savings on fuel expense.
This research should be conducted locally, as the optimal strategy will depend on the target fish species, local economic conditions and vulnerabilities.
What’s the likely socioeconomic impact of a transition from bottom trawling to alternative methods?
François Bastardie: Allowing only the use of passive gears (by nature, not towed across the seabed) and switching from mobile bottom-contacting gears to such fishing techniques would cancel out the impact on the seabed in marine protected areas with long-term economic gain. Maintaining thriving local and coastal fishers’ communities in regulated areas is also important to facilitate social acceptance and equity while preserving the resource, making the habitat recover, and exploiting it sustainably.
The fishing sector should be supported to transition. In the long run, falling costs and recovered habitats will make the transition more affordable and exploitation more profitable than the currently degraded potential.
What are the potential challenges and benefits of making the use of innovative fishing technologies mandatory?
François Bastardie: The legislation could oblige the operators to only use in the regulated areas any proven fishing gear that greatly reduces the contact of the gear with the seabed, including gear-raised footrope or semi-pelagic ‘flying’ otter board doors, as already mentioned. Innovations for lighter-impacting gears or solutions not affecting catch rates are lacking, so the operators will not use them voluntarily.
Switching to using passive gear appears to be viable, even if innovations in this type of fishing are also needed so that to ensure decreasing incidental catches of marine mammals, or birds, for example.
Is it possible to balance the need for conservation with the economic needs of the fishing communities?
François Bastardie: Conserving the marine ecosystem does not oppose economic return but is a necessary condition. There can’t be fishing opportunities without healthy habitats that support them. Preserving long-term yield is a win-win.
Trade-offs are short-term choices about allocating fishing rights, or the balance between social vs. economic return objectives, between jobs and profitability. We recently published a side study making this point with an overview of how risk assessment and management is tackled in the EU and beyond. It provides actionable short -to long-term recommendations to reduce the risks associated with exploiting natural resources and ensure their sustainability, which would solve such trade-offs.
What role do you see for policy makers in facilitating the transition to less harmful fishing practices?
François Bastardie: Regulators should act as gatekeepers for long-term sustainability and assets already invested in fisheries, rather than maintaining the status quo protecting interests focusing solely on short-term profits. They should capture the rent made by the sector and promote tax redirection to fund the transition. An ocean literacy and education scheme should also be established to upskill and reskill fishers in using alternative gear. Continued funding for research and development is necessary to find and develop further alternatives that would increase catch rates and also save fuel.
What are the implications of this study’s findings for the future of fisheries management in the EU?
François Bastardie: The study concluded that bottom trawling should be excluded from MPAs deemed vulnerable to physical abrasion, even with innovative gears. Current innovations only have a marginal effect on reducing the seabed impact and come with extra costs and loss of catch efficiency, making the net effect at the regional scale counterproductive.
Allowing only passive gears in MPAs and switching from mobile bottom-contacting gears to using such fishing techniques would maintain thriving local and coastal fishers’ communities in regulated areas. This is important for social acceptance and equity whilst preserving the natural resource, enabling the habitat to recover, and exploiting it sustainably.