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Parent debate

• Debate:Driftnets

Supporting evidence

• "The Impact of the Driftnet By-Catch on the Oceanic System". Earth Trust. Retrieved 1.30.08 - "The sudden increase of driftnet vessel effort in the 1980s was seen as a threat to the long-term sustainability of some of the important fishing resources - in particular albacore - as well as representing a serious environmental threat with respect to the by-catch of marine mammals and other living resources taken by the gear (UN Secretary General 1990). Although the impact of large-scale driftnetting on the range of affected species or the total biomass was not yet fully understood, scientists had become increasingly concerned about the potential effects of large-scale removals of target and non-target species on the North Pacific ecosystem as a whole (U.S. Summary Report 1991). For example, blue sharks, a top predator, "are part of a very intricate assembly of animals that co-exist according to a very long, evolved interactive equilibrium" (Bardach pers. comm. 1991). It was conservatively estimated that in 1990 alone some 2.4 million blue shark were taken out of the North Pacific by the combined efforts of five driftnet fisheries. Removing that many top predators could change the equilibrium in a large-scale ecosystem, possibly for a long time, and there was a high likelihood that the populations of target species, as well as other species, would be detrimentally affected as a result."

• "Ecological damage caused by drift nets". Retrieved 1.30.08 - "Drift-net fisheries have been mounted in all of the world's major fishing regions, and unwanted by-catch is always a serious problem. This has proven true for pelagic fisheries for swordfish, tuna, squid, salmon, and other species. One example is the drift-net fishery for swordfish in the Mediterranean, 90% of which is associated with Italian fishers. This industry kills excessive numbers of striped dolphin and sperm whale, and smaller numbers of fin whale, Cuvier's beaked whale, long-finned pilot whale, and Risso's, bottlenose, and common dolphins, along with other non-target marine wildlife. As a result of concerns about the excessive by-catch in this swordfish fishery during the early 1990s, the European Union banned the use of drift nets longer than 1.5 mi (2.5 km) (prior to this action, the average set was 26 mi [12 km] in length). However, some fishing nations have objected to this regulation and do not enforce it. It remains to be seen whether this length restriction will prove to be useful in preventing the non-target, drift-net mortality in this fishery."