Trawl nets destroy UK's coral reefs

Trawl nets destroy UK's coral reefs

Paul Brown, environment correspondent
Friday August 9, 2002

The Guardian

Cold water coral reefs off the coast of Britain that are up to 8,500 years old are being destroyed by the nets of trawlers, scientists have told the European commission.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, which counts fish numbers and advises the EU on fishing policy, argued that, to protect the precious reefs, they should be charted and then declared off limits for fishing.

The reefs are distributed right around the coast of Britain but occur in particular in deep water off Scotland. Their existence has only recently been recognised, and their extent has yet to be accurately mapped.

David Griffith, the council's general secretary, said yesterday: "Towing a heavy trawl net through a cold water reef is a bit like driving a bulldozer through a nature reserve. The only practical way of protecting these reefs is therefore to find out where they are, and then prevent boats trawling over them. We know most skippers would rather steer clear of reefs, as they can damage their gear, so producing accurate maps will help them avoid these areas."

Nets can break up the reef, damage the sensitive coral polyps, and swamp the reef with sediment. The most common coral species in the north-east Atlantic is Lophelia pertusa, and closed areas to protect this species have been set in Norway and Sweden.

The council has also advised that vessels should be obliged to record coral if they find it in their nets, to help identify the areas where fishing is having an effect on reefs.

Europe's cold water reefs are similar to tropical reefs, except that the coral does not need sunlight and can live in the depths of the Atlantic. They are found at depths of 200 to 1,000 metres. On average the coral grows at 1mm per year; the highest reefs found measure an impressive 35m, at Sula ridge off the Norwegian coast. Reefs take centuries to form, and those at Sula are 8,500 years old.