Final regulations, designed to protect the seafloor habitat, have been issued for the waters off the west coast. At issue is “Bottom Trawling” along 140-thousand square miles of seafloor off the coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. Bottom Trawling is when weighted nets are dragged to catch fish living near the seafloor….and aside from catching fish, those weighted nets can damage or destroy corals and sponges that provide habitat for a variety of marine life. Once the new regulations take effect Jan. 1st, approximately 90 percent of the seafloor off the west coast will be off-limits to Bottom Trawling. The new regulations also include the protection of deep-sea habitats (down to nearly 2 miles below the ocean’s surface) from all commercial bottom-contact fishing gear. More information on this can be found on-line at: Oceana.org/pacificseafloor.
