The impact of large-scale trawling on coastal ecosystems
How does large-scale industrial herring fishing affect other species in the sea?
Coastal fishermen and managers have long argued that industrial trawlers’ large-scale harvesting of herring in the Baltic Sea may force species such as grey seals and cormorants to move closer to the coast in search of food other than herring. This has not previously been investigated using scientific methods – but will now be done within the framework of the project. If grey seals and cormorants consume more of the coastal predatory fish, this could have effects on the entire coastal ecosystem – for example, the amount of filamentous algae could increase, thereby exacerbating the symptoms of eutrophication.
The project is being carried out by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Through BalticWaters’ program for research projects and pre-studies, the project has been awarded a grant of SEK 974,899.
Project materials
Article: Impact of trawling on seals, cormorants and the Baltic coastal ecosystem (2024-09-26)