Karmactive Staff
Florida State University researchers have put forth shocking new footage that depicts the extent of the damage that bottom trawling equipment has done across the Emperor Seamounts, scraping ancient coral formations.
Photo Source: Jackson Myers (CC BY-ND 2.0)
The Emperor Seamount chain consists of 80 underwater mountains, consisting of cold-water corals, deep-sea sponges, and diverse marine communities.
The Rainbow Warrior expedition documented 84 shark deaths within 25 hours which resulted in up to three sharks every hour, while they were out watching longline operations.
Photo Source: Cyr0z (CC BY 2.0)
These precious communities now face destruction from standard rockhopper fishing gear which drag 53-cm-diameter rubber discs across the seafloor.
Photo Source: Animalia
Longline vessels deploy monofilament mainlines extending 100 km which are attached with size 14/0-16/0, sharp circle hooks.
Photo Source: Jon. D. Anderson (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
A ROV survey dates these ancient coral formations as being 13300 years old.
Photo Source: James St. John (CC BY 2.0)
Long-term trawling has shown a 40% increase in substrate compaction in trawled areas of these corals.
Current monitoring reveals concerning bycatch rates: 0.030 Laysan albatross per 1000 hooks, 0.057 black-footed albatross, and 0.007 leatherback turtles, as shown by a recent 2022 report.
Photo Source: Virginia Sea Grant (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Longline vessels are notoriously known for their worrisome working conditions where workers work on less than 10 hours of sleep in a 24-hour workshift, facing water rationing and non-functional safety equipment.
The North Pacific Fisheries Commission strived to pass a U.S.-Canada proposal banning bottom trawling at Emperor Seamounts in April 2024 but was unsuccessful.
Photo Source: WorldFish (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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