Why is scampi fishing environmentally damaging?

Scampi fishing, primarily through bottom trawling, releases ancient carbon from ocean floors and devastates marine ecosystems by indiscriminately catching other sea life.

What is the hidden climate cost of scampi?

The hidden climate cost involves bottom trawling releasing carbon stored in deep ocean muds for thousands of years, contributing to climate change.

How does scampi fishing harm marine ecosystems?

Bottom trawling damages seabed habitats and results in significant bycatch, where a large amount of unintended marine wildlife is killed and discarded.

Home / Environment / Scampi's Secret Climate Cost Revealed

Scampi's Secret Climate Cost Revealed

15 Mar

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Summary

Bottom trawling for scampi releases ancient trapped carbon.
Fishing method devastates marine ecosystems and causes bycatch.
Scampi's environmental impact is largely invisible to consumers.

Concerns are mounting over the environmental impact of scampi and chips, a popular seaside treat. Scientists warn that the common fishing method for Norway lobsters, or langoustines, known as bottom trawling, carries a significant hidden climate cost. This practice involves dragging heavy nets across the seabed, which is now understood to release vast stores of carbon dioxide trapped in ocean mud for thousands of years.

The University of Exeter study highlights that bottom trawling in areas like the Fladen Ground east of Scotland disturbs sediments containing carbon deposited as far back as the last ice age. This disturbance releases the carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. The process is particularly damaging as the affected sediment is not replenished quickly, meaning centuries-old carbon stores are vulnerable.