Impacts of beam trawl fisheries in the North Sea

Possible impacts of beam trawling in the North Sea are a regular subject of debate among scientists, policy makers and those that exploit the sea’s natural resources. Knowledge about impacts is, for example, necessary to assess potential conflicts with the implementation of European legislation, such as the Birds Directive and Habitats Directive (establishing an ecological network known as Natura 2000) and the Marine Strategy Directive. Such debates may benefit from insight in scientific findings about the ecological impacts of beam trawl fisheries on the North Sea ecosystem. This report is a summary of such findings, based on a short and concise search effort into scientific literature.