Science for Environment Policy THEMATIC ISSUE: Seafloor Damage December 2013 Issue 45 Environment Science for Environment Policy This Thematic Issue is written and edited by the Science Seafloor Damage Communication Unit, University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol Email: [email protected] Contents The environmental cost of seafloor damage 3 How the environmental impacts of deep-sea mining are Guest editorial from Professor Phil Weaver assessed 12 Deep-sea mining could soon become a reality in some marine ‘Animal forests’ of the sea need better protection 5 areas. A recent study provides policymakers with an environmental Human-induced impacts, such as from bottom trawling (dragging management plan, which describes monitoring plans for the mining fishing nets along the seafloor), are having a detrimental effect on areas before and after mining operations. living structures on the seafloor – coral, sponges, sea anenomes and other species. New guidelines for protection of unique deep-sea ecosystems 13 The Dinard guidelines propose the establishment of reserves to Estimating the true extent of damage to exploited seafloor protect the biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and resilience of ecosystems: a UK case study 6 these unique environments, while permitting reasonable use of their Researchers reveal that a historical look at changes to seafloor resources. ecosystems, such as Scottish oyster beds, can provide a vital baseline on which current conservation and restoration efforts can be What are the impacts of depositing dredged sediment on the founded. seafloor? 14 A new study suggests that dredged material deposited on the seafloor Impacts of seafloor trawling extend further than thought 7 can decrease the amount of food for fish and other marine animals The influence of bottom trawling on deeper and larger areas than the further up the food chain, thereby reducing the number of species fishing grounds themselves is of concern, according to a new study. that live there. Even if bottom trawling is banned in deep waters, these sensitive ecosystems may still be vulnerable. Offshore wind farm foundations could alter seafloor ecosystems of the North Sea 15 Reducing fishing in marginal areas could substantially reduce The planned expansion of offshore wind farms will provide hard the footprint and impact of seabed fishing 8 surfaces in what is currently a soft-bottom habitat. This will result in Seabed fishing grounds are composed of intensively fished core an increase in some species, such as mussels, which attach themselves areas surrounded by more rarely used marginal areas, new research to hard structures. shows. New tool to map seafloor sensitivity to fishing 9 Fishing activities, such as trawling and dredging, can damage or About Science for Environment Policy destroy some seafloor habitats. Researchers have developed an interactive electronic web-based tool which allows for illustration of Science for Environment Policy is a free news recorded fishing activity and seabed sensitivity. and information service published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General Environment, New method for mapping seafloor ecosystems 10 which provides the latest environmental policy- A new tool which uses easily measured environmental properties relevant research findings. to infer the type and extent of seafloor ecosystems could help with the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Science for Environment Policy publishes a Directive. weekly News Alert which is delivered by email to subscribers and provides accessible summaries Assessing human-driven damage to seafloor habitats 11 of key scientific studies. A recent study has found that over one third of marine habitats in the Thematic Issues are special editions of the Baltic Sea have been damaged by human activities such as trawling, News Alert which focus on a key policy area. dredging, windfarms and nutrient pollution. http://ec.europa.eu/science-environment-policy Keep up-to-date Subscribe to Science for Environment Policy’s weekly News Alert by emailing: [email protected] The contents and views included in Science for Environment Or sign up online at: Policy are based on independent research and do not necessarily http://ec.europa.eu/science-environment-policy reflect the position of the European Commission. 3 EDITORIAL The environmental cost of seafloor damage Damage to the seafloor, due to a range of human activities, including fisheries, sand and gravel extraction and navigational dredging, has affected large areas of the seabed for over a century. Recent reports by EU Member States estimate that, in some parts of Europe, over 75% of their waters have been physically damaged. This damage has destroyed critical marine habitats and led to significant biodiversity loss. The European Commission’s work in implementing the This Thematic Issue of Science for Environment Policy 2008 Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)1, presents key pieces of research looking at physical in which EU Member States are required to achieve damage to the seafloor, which explore topics such ‘good environmental status’ (GES) by 2020, combined as the impacts of seafloor trawling and of dumping with the EU’s ‘Blue Growth’ strategy2, should improve dredged material; the potential effects of seafloor the quality of our marine waters. One specific aim of mining and how we might develop guidelines for this the MSFD is to improve the quality of the seafloor and new industry; the impacts of wind farms; and new its habitats throughout European waters. tools to map sensitivity to fishing and other human influences. It focuses on physical damage to the However, our history of engagement with the oceans seafloor, a key topic to be addressed by the MSFD, suggests that economic growth has often brought as other forms of environmental impact, such as high environmental costs, with many areas suffering chemical contamination and nutrient enrichment, the effects of overfishing and destructive fishing already well known issues that are addressed by a practices, as well as growing amounts of marine number of policies. pollution, including plastic waste. To add to these pressures, marine life will need to adapt to climate The first article, ‘Animal forests of the sea need better change and adjust to increased acidification of the protection’, examines the physical destruction of oceans in the coming years, as well as cope with new ecosystems based on structural species, such as corals industries, such as deep-sea mining of high-grade and sponges, together with additional new pressures, ores. Now, however, is the time to get our marine such as climate change and ocean acidification. The management right, by combining the drive for new example of the destruction of the North American cod exploitation (‘Blue Growth’) with a better and more fishing industry is given, where the combination of sympathetic approach to environmental protection. overfishing and habitat destruction led to a collapse of This ‘ecosystem-based’ approach to management of the fish stocks in the late 1980s. The fishery was closed human activities and uses of our seas is an integral in 1992 and has shown little sign of recovery since. part of the MSFD and vital for the achievement of The article, ‘Estimating the true extent of damage GES. Improving the quality of the environment brings to exploited seafloor ecosystems’, presents a study in many benefits to our society, through the provision of which researchers attempted to reconstruct the history ecosystem goods and services. of shellfish beds on the east coast of Scotland, UK. These were vastly more extensive in the early 1800s, We are developing a better appreciation of how we with landings (the fish catch which is brought ashore) have affected the marine environment. Let us hope for oysters falling by 99% during the 19th century, and that in this latest drive to exploit the ocean we take by a similar amount for queen scallops during the 20th seriously the term ‘sustainable’ and interpret it to mean century. Impacts from bottom trawling (fishing at or ‘sustaining ecosystems’, by harvesting and exploiting at close to the seafloor) are known to have significant rates and with methods that will achieve this. negative effects on seabed communities and more 4 evidence of this is provided in the article, ‘Impacts pressures on marine ecosystems will be deep-sea of seabed trawling extend further than thought’. mining, which is covered in two articles. The first This presents research that showed that the sediment relates to ‘How the environmental impacts of deep- plumes stirred up by the impact of a trawl can travel sea mining are assessed’, concentrating on massive deeper into the sea for considerable distances and sulphide deposits that are formed at mid-ocean ridges smother unfished habitats, thus expanding the area in hydrothermal vents (volcanic openings on the affected by the fishery. seafloor which release mineral-rich water). Potentially Fishermen have their favourite spots on the seabed these can destroy rare and complex ecosystems that and visit these regularly. Thus, in some areas, the exploit methane and sulphides in the vent fluids. The seabed has been completely altered by fishing. Based article outlines the key features of hydrothermal vent on a UK study, the article ‘Reductions in fishing ecosystems and discusses the issues that would need activity in marginal areas could substantially to be taken into account during an environmental reduce the footprint and impact