Greenpeace has proposed the establishment of a huge Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Arctic Barents Sea in order to protect vulnerable ecosystems from bottom-trawling (Major British seafood brands linked to fishing in fragile Arctic area, theguardian.com, 3 March). It is praiseworthy that Greenpeace challenges the Arctic countries to sustainably manage the resources found there. Unfortunately, a vast protected area is not the most efficient measure for protecting what needs to be protected.

Demersal fish trawls may harm vulnerable benthic biota such as corals. In the Barents Sea there are no coral reefs, but other species are vulnerable to being caught in bottom-trawling. Based on 10 years of scientific monitoring of the Barents Sea, we see that the vulnerability among the benthic communities is not uniform across the area that Greenpeace proposes should be closed. In the Svalbard region of the Barents Sea, two-thirds of survey stations were classified as having low vulnerability to bottom-trawling. Thus full protection of the area would encompass areas that don’t need protection. While it is important to put in place appropriate restrictions, it is not wise to put overly rigorous restrictions on fisheries in the Barents Sea as this would run contrary to the global needs for increased sustainable fishing to help feed a growing global population.

Our research and monitoring allows us to pinpoint the most vulnerable areas, and to customise management and conservation to each one. Targeted and tailor-made management is a better strategy for ensuring the conservation of vulnerable Arctic organisms than establishing vast marine protected areas.

Dr Erik Olsen, Dr Lis Lindal Jørgensen and Dr Harald Gjøsæter

Institute of Marine Research, Norway

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