Dredging

Catching fish in mass quantities is important to fisherman when fishing the ocean. One prevelant fishing technique used to catch many fish is called dredging. Dredging consists of dragging a large metal crate along the bottom of the seafloor to catch bottom-dwelling shellfish, this destroys all life on the bottom of the ocean. Monterey Bay Aquarium says, "Once the living seafloor is damaged, it can take centuries to grow back. Near Australia, bottom trawlers have pulled up and destroyed six-foot-tall gorgonians (coldwater coral) that were at least 700 years old. And with trawl fleets fishing all over the world, the seafloor in popular spots never gets a chance to recover. Parts of the North Sea off Denmark are trawled up to 400 times a year." There are many fish that rely on the seafloor to live. Monterey Bay says people should favor fishing practices that spare the seafloor. To find out more visit, www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_hd.aspx