trawling It is one of the most environmentally harmful fishing activities. However, the known and criticized damage to ecosystems is not the only effect of large and heavy nets moving on the sea floor. trawling It also fuels climate changeBy releasing CO2, which the ocean has kept buried in the sea bed for thousands of years, into the marine environment and atmosphere.
This was revealed in a study published by an American research group. Frontiers in Marine Sciencesthey underlined this emission source that is never taken into account, It could have a significant impact on the future of the climate fight.
It is not for nothing that, as scientists confirm, in 24 years (between 1996 and 2020) this activity caused twice as much CO2 emissions as all the fuel used to move the world’s fleet of fishing vessels.
“It is well known that dragging these heavy fishing nets across the ocean floor destroys marine life and habitats, but what we discovered is that: It also releases clouds of carbon that would be stored safely at the bottom of the ocean.“, says the main author of the paper, Trisha Atwood, a biologist specializing in ecology at the University of Utah (USA).
In this sense, the study examines the nature of trawling Capable of releasing 55% to 60% of the CO2 found at the seabed over the next nine years.
It emits as much CO2 as the entire world’s aviation
But in reality, this damage has been occurring for decades. Researchers calculated that Between 1996 and 2020, trawling managed to release more CO2 each year than most countries, a similar magnitude to the amount released by global aviation.
But not everyone on the planet suffers from this equally. The East China Sea, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea in the Atlantic Ocean and the Greenland Sea are the regions most affected by this activity and the resulting uncontrolled CO2 emissions.
Additionally, the researchers concluded that Southeast Asia, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, parts of Europe, and the Gulf of Mexico may also be significant sources of carbon emissions from trawling, but are not. can collect enough data to establish a correlation.
With this information, scientists shed light on a yet unknown problem. “Countries fail to account for significant carbon emissions caused by this activity and they don’t include it in their climate action plans,” insists Enric Sala, the paper’s coordinator and Executive Director of Pristine Seas, but he is optimistic. “Reducing this activity will provide an immediate benefit in emissions,” he emphasized.
The new study also evaluates what happens to carbon that is not released back into the atmosphere. between 40 and 45% of the total. According to the research, this CO2 remains in the water and locally acidifies the marine environment. Ultimately, this is a situation that causes damage to the marine fauna and flora where the fishing activity takes place.
Link to the study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1125137/full
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