Benthic Trawl Experiment is a joint research project that collaborates SADSTIA, DAFF and SAEON, which aims to give marine researchers an idea of how long the sea and its ecosystem takes to recover after hake trawling operations.
The objectives of this project is to investigate the impact of bottom trawling on the benthic communities of organisms that live in or on the seafloor of the outer shelf of South Africa's west coast and to monitor any changes in these communities in the areas where trawling has stopped.
The implementation methodologies involve 6 by 15 nautical mile block (within one of the fisheries' commercial blocks) and divided this into five lanes, two of which will remain open to trawling, where the remaining three will be closed over for the project. The no trawl lanes are off "Karbonkel" that will be the experimental area on the west coast mainly for fishing. A submersible camera and a benthic grap (instrument used to collect benthic sediments will be used to sample the benthic epifauna and infauna.
The follow-up mechanisms for this project is to assess the seabed images gathered by SAEON deep-sea camera system (Ski-Monkey III) annually, is to assess the time it takes for the seabed to recover after it has been trawled, if at all and gather data from these surveys to allow researchers to quantify how, if at all, marine ecosystems are responding to the lack of trawl disturbance.
Scientists from SAEON, the University of Cape Town (UCT), the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) are participating in this experiment.
Progress reports
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
Type of commitment
- Reduction and elimination fishing practices and gear that destroy/degrade marine habitat
December/2018
Creating a field guide book of benthic species identification on the west coast
December/2018
Researchers to capture visuals from the deep-sea images from Ski-Monkey III
December/2018
Conduct on going studies about the effects of trawling on deepwater (benthic) habitats and biodiversity on the west coast
February/2014
Closing three lanes (8.1 x 0.65 nm) trawling after a baseline survey was conducted in this fishing area
