geography, edexcel

Problems facing the fishing industry

1.      What is ‘Trawling’?
Trawling is a fishing method which involves fishing net being pulled through the water.

2.      What is a beam trawl and how does it operate?
Beam trawls try to target species like flatfish which usually stay under the seabed. A horizontal opening of the net is provided by a heavy beam, which can easily travel along the seabed. The mouth of the trawler is able to scoop up many shoals of fish when it’s thrown into the sea.

3.      Why is beam trawling particularly damaging to the marine ecosystem?
Beam trawling is particularly damaging the marine ecosystem because they damage the seabed and this disturbs the marine ecosystem. Once the seabed is damaged, it takes a long time for it to recover. Trawling also picks up unwanted fish. When those unwanted fish are caught, they get thrown back into the ocean even if they are alive or dead.

4.      What is meant by ‘Bycatch’?
Bycatch is when unwanted fish or species are caught instead of the targeted species.

5.      Why is bycatch a particular problem for the marine ecosystem?
The reason why bycatch is a particular problem for the marine ecosystem is because once the wrong fish are caught they would be dead and thrown back to the sea. Dead fish at the sea comes to show a bad ecosystem where there are dead creatures. Also by bycatching, shrimps and dolphins…