American scientists from the University of Utah, NASA and other scientific institutions have discovered a previously undisclosed powerful source of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from the seas and oceans. It turned out to be trawling – a method in which a heavy net (trawl) is dragged along the bottom. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Frontiers in Marine Sciences (FMS).
As previous studies have shown, bottom sediments contain large amounts of carbon. According to experts, up to 60% CO is released when trawling the underwater soil2 It will enter the atmosphere in nine years.
Carbon emissions from trawlers are estimated to be twice that of the world’s fishing fleet of approximately 4 million vessels.
A new study identifies ocean regions where carbon emissions from bottom trawling are particularly high. Vulnerable areas include the East China Sea, the Baltic and North Seas, and the Greenland Sea.
Southeast Asia, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, parts of Europe’s marine waters and the Gulf of Mexico may also be significant sources of carbon emissions from trawling, the researchers said. But currently scientists do not have exact data on the scale and intensity of trawling in these areas.
“We have just discovered that bottom trawling releases clouds of carbon that will be safely stored on the ocean floor for thousands of years. Like deforestation, plowing of the sea bed causes irreparable harm to climate, society and wildlife,” said Dr. Trisha Atwood, one of the study’s authors.
Previous scientists warned about the strong risk of carbon emissions from fire ice.