Sea anemones on the St Kilda seamount, north of Scotland
Seamounts under threat from seabed trawling
Seamounts are literally mountain ranges under the sea. These mountains are usually of volcanic origin. They rise from the sea floor and peak below sea level. They are hotspots of marine biodiversity - and they are under threat from deep seabed trawling.
Seamounts can be more than 1000 metres high. The mountains that actually break the surface of the sea are known as oceanic islands - such as those of Hawaii, the Azores and Bermuda. These were all underwater seamounts in the past.
Scientists and conservationists have only begun to learn more about these vulnerable deep sea environments. As many as fifty percent of the species observed during recent seamount cruises have been new to science.
Little is known about the unique species that inhabit seamounts. But scientists do know that deep-sea coral and sponge species are typically slow-growing and long-lived, which makes them particularly sensitive to disturbance. Deep sea fish, which can live for up to 150 years and sometimes don't reach reproductive maturity until 30 years of age, are especially vulnerable to overfishing.
Seabed trawling is the primary threat to seamounts and other deep sea environments, such as cold water coral reefs. The nets completely destroy bottom habitats in a single trawl.
Seabed trawling on the high seas is almost completely unregulated. Only a handful of international Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) have authority to regulate seabed fishing, and few if any restrictions exist.
Earlier this year more than 100 scientists signed a Statement of Concern to the United Nations General Assembly regarding the risks the deep sea. Among other recommendations, they urged the UN General Assembly to adopt an immediate moratorium on seabed trawling on the high seas.
This week, at the opening of a major international conference on deep sea fisheries in New Zealand, Greenpeace again called for immediate protection of seamounts, cold water corals and other vulnerable deep sea habitats from damaging deep seabed trawling.
