UN proposes phasing out bottom trawling on undersea mountains by 2027
The proposal targets a practice that leaves no seamount able to fully recover, even 40 years after trawling stops.
Seamounts are undersea mountains home to ancient coral reefs and sponge gardens that take centuries to grow. Bottom trawlers drag enormous fishing nets, 80 to 200 metres wide, across them, crushing the corals and sponges that shelter fish, whales, sharks and turtles.
Scientists have found no evidence that any seamount fully recovers from trawling, even 40 years later. The UN's Sustainable Fisheries Resolution is being negotiated this week.
A proposal would phase out bottom trawling on international seamounts by the end of 2027. Only 1.5 per cent of known seamounts are currently protected.
The Lord Howe Rise off Australia's east coast remains open to trawling. The High Seas Treaty came into effect this year, bringing better protection for marine life in international waters.
More than 400 scientists have signed the Seamounts Proclamation urging governments to end bottom trawling. Australia has long championed seamount protection and could secure this agreement.
- 80 to 200 metres
- Width of trawling nets
- No full recovery even 40 years later
- Recovery time documented
- 1.5 per cent of known seamounts
- Seamounts with protection
- More than 400
- Scientists backing protection
Why it mattersSeamounts take centuries to grow and show no recovery from trawling even 40 years later, making their protection urgent.
AustraliaIf the ban passes, Australian waters around the Lord Howe Rise would gain protected deep-sea ecosystems for the first time.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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