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Telltale furrows: What the Baltic Sea seafloor reveals about bottom trawling

They used new methods to track the impact of trawl fishing on the Baltic Sea seafloor: IOW researchers Peter Feldens (l. ) and Mischa Schönke (r.)
They used new methods to track the impact of trawl fishing on the Baltic Sea seafloor: IOW researchers Peter Feldens (l. ) and Mischa Schönke (r.) (Photo: K. Beck, IOW)

To what extent does bottom trawling impact the seafloor of the Baltic Sea—and how quickly does it recover? Two new studies from the IOW show that the marks on the seafloor provide a much clearer picture of the actual impact than vessel position data alone. Using high-resolution echo sounder measurements and AI, the researchers reveal previously insufficiently recorded impacts and also document surprisingly rapid changes of the seafloor condition. Furthermore, they found strong indications of fishing violations in a marine protected area. The study results were published in the journals “Ecological Informatics” and “Anthropocene.”

 

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