Shrimp Trawlers Detstroying deep water reefs

[Guest Larry-T]

Photos Document Coral Forest Annihilation

Full story and photos at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=17102434

 

When ancient forests are cut down, there's usually a big public uproar

[OUsnakebyte]

Unfortunately all the other reefs were vulnerable to shrimp trawlers that dragged giant nets with steel doors on them through the fragile coral forests.

 

I've heard trawling compared to using a bulldozer to pick apples - and is one of the main reasons I don't eat shrimp any more. Farmed is just as bad, with the destruction of coastal mangrove habitats usually employed to do the job.

 

I guess some of the northern US shrimp fisheries are getting better...

[jnguyen4007]

I saw it on the Discovery channel and it was pretty heart breaking seeing the kind of damage that shrimp trawler can do. If the barrier reefs become a protected sanctuary, I wonder if the shrimp trawlers can go further out into the ocean to find shrimps or if shrimps can only be found in coastal area.