Conference on the Protection of the Deep Sea
Paris, Grand Palais16 September 2013
Rainer Froese, GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany
Aphanopus carboBlack scabbardfishSable noir110 cm, 32 years200 – 1700 mNo stock status dataCatch 2011: 6000 tonnes
Molva dypterygiaBlue lingLingue bleue155 cm, 20+ years150 – 1000 mAdvice: no direct fisheriesCatch 2011: 10000 tonnes
Coryphaenoides rupestrisGrenadierfishGrenadier de roche110 cm, 54 years400 – 1200 mAdvice: reduce catchCatch 2011: 6600 tonnes
Deep Sea bottom trawlingis like bulldozing a forest
to catch a few foxes
• Damage to ecosystem is massive• Catches for human consumption are negligible
– Who wants to eat foxes?• Cost are prohibitive (only possible with subsidies)• Potential consequences are poorly understood
A milky green cloud of water off theNamib Desert coast of Namibia in southern Africa is a tell-tale sign of sulfur rising to the surface. The yellowish clouds of sulfur come from hydrogen sulfide gas produced by anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that can live without oxygen) at the ocean floor.
Hydrogen Sulfide Eruption along the Coast of Namibia
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=12831
Conclusions
• Deep Sea fishing is not needed and economically not viable
• Deep Sea trawling has the potential to destroy the delicate balance between the upper Ocean and the Deep Sea
• The consequences of a disturbed balance are poorly understood but may include expansion of oxygen minimum zones and hydrogen sulfide eruptions