Lisbon, Jan. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - Although bottom fishing has decreased by 81% in the European Union in the last two years, a study released on Thursday found that it still occurs in areas with closed vulnerable marine ecosystems, namely in Portugal.
According to the study, Portugal recorded 500 hours of bottom fishing in a prohibited area off the coast of Sines by three Portuguese vessels between November 2022 and October 2023.
Throughout the European Union, during this period, there were 3,500 hours of bottom fishing in vulnerable ecosystems closed to all types of bottom fishing.
The figures refer to fishing in 87 prohibited European areas between 400 and 800 metres deep.
But the document also provides data on bottom fishing below 800 metres: of the approximately 19,180 hours of bottom trawling below 800 metres over a two-year period, Portuguese trawlers "appear to be responsible" for 15,810 hours of this fishing.
The authors of the study, published in the scientific journal Science Advances and released by the non-governmental organisation Sciaena, which promotes a healthy marine environment, say that Portugal is "one of the main players in deep-sea fisheries in the Iberian ecoregion" and has "partially complied with the 2022 closures".
The document quoted by Sciaena "highlights concerns" about three Portuguese trawlers that may be operating in closed areas and where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known to exist.
In November 2022, the European Commission closed 87 areas (between 400 and 800 metres deep) to bottom contact fishing to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.
The scientific article emphasises that the trawling off the Sines region happened "in one of the closed areas", called "polygon 13".
Despite the progress made with the European Commission's ban on mitigating destructive fishing practices, following the regulation on access to the deep sea, there are still vessels that may be non-compliant, "jeopardising" vulnerable marine ecosystems, notes the Sciaena statement.
"Although, in general, member states are complying with the closure to deep-sea fishing in these areas, Portugal has not been one of the most openly supportive of this process," says Catarina Abril, Sciaena's Fisheries and Climate technician, quoted in the statement.
Speaking to Lusa, she pointed out that fishing with direct contact with the seabed can be done through traps, longlines or trawlers. She recalled that these are not very selective in what they fish and are, therefore, one of the most damaging forms of fishing for vulnerable environments.
Catarina Abril was concerned about fishing between 400 and 800 metres deep, pointing out that the European Union regulation on access to the deep sea, which prohibits trawling, also allows bottom trawling below 800 metres if the vessels are catching deep-sea species that are not on the list of prohibited species.
However, Catarina Abril and the study's authors said that high volumes of trawling below 800 metres pose a significant threat to fragile marine ecosystems.
Given the impact that bottom trawling has on fragile ecosystems, Lissette Victorero, co-author of the study, is quoted in the statement as saying that trawling should not take place at these depths without additional data on the distribution of fragile ecosystems and the vessels' target species.
"Sciaena reinforced this call, emphasising the need to improve scientific data collection, particularly on the presence of habitats and indicator species of vulnerable marine ecosystems," the statement said.
The environmental organisation says that the published analysis covers vessels over 15 metres in length.
To ensure that vessels under 15 metres do not fish in closed areas, Sciaena calls for all vessels fishing near them to be equipped with Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and for the government to support the equipment installation.
FP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
