Bottom Trawling (Commercial)

Bottom trawling drags large weighted nets across the sea floor, sweeping up shrimp, cod, flounder, and every other bottom-dweller in the netss path. It is enormously productive - and enormously damaging. Trawl scars on the sea floor can persist for decades, disturbing benthic communities like clear-cut forests. Modern regulations require excluder devices, closed areas, and gear modifications to reduce impact, but the technique remains controversial.

Shrimp, cod, flounder, plaice, sole, hake, snapper, grouper.

Bottom trawling is banned in many marine protected areas. Turtle-excluder devices (TEDs) required in shrimp trawls in US waters. Deep-sea trawling below certain depths is being progressively banned.