Turning the tide for low impact fisheries

All fisheries have an impact on the marine environment, both directly on marine species and habitats and indirectly through the emissions of greenhouse gases.

However, not all fisheries affect the environment to the same extent. Generally speaking, fuel intensive active gears such as bottom trawls and dredges tend to have greater impacts on habitats and species and cause higher greenhouse gas emissions. Mobile and passive gears generally have a lesser environmental impact and use much less fuel.