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Hi Matthias- >This comparison fails. Trawlers do not get near coastal or reef waters, >as divers/spearrfishers do. Yes, trawlers do operate in coastal waters (at least off the U.S.). Draggers (otter trawls, dredges, etc.) operate in shallow coastal waters, as well as inshore waters in some bays and estuaries. There have been documented impacts on coral/sponge habitat in Biscayne Bay off Miami, deepwater Oculina coral habitat off the central east coast of Florida (which has potentially decimated as much as 90% of natural coverage), coral reef habitat in the Tortugas (Florida Keys), as well as grass beds in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere. In fact, there was a serious problem with trawlers in the Med regarding grass beds. Some of these fishing activities degrade nursery areas or seriously impact the juvenile population through bycatch (e.g., red snapper). >The Mediterrannean is an example of the depletion of species by >spearfishing through not many years.. Aggravating is, that spearfishers >go for the giggame, so make a selection contrary to natures, leaving the >smaller and weaker behind. Bad for evolution. Other fishing activities do the same thing; for example, commercial and recreational fishermen have targeted spawning aggregations for years. Even in the Med where spearfishing has been blamed for the current situation, it is not the entire reason, but just a portion of it. I am not defending spearfishing, as it can definitely be part of the problem. Overfishing is overfishing. However, the Med has been seriously exploited for decades. I am not sure it is accurate to say that spearfishing is responsible for the "depletion of species" when the local ecosystem could have already been primed and ready to crash through previous overfishing and habitat impacts. Regards, Mike _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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