It destroys our marine ecosystem by crushing all marine structure in its way and catching innocent species that are not even commercially valuable. It also destroys important breeding ground for the very fish that are being fished for. An unsustainable practice, it is comparable to hunting for rabbits in a forest using a bulldozer. Unfortunately, since this horrifying damage occurs on the ocean bed, it is difficult to convince the antagonists and bystanders to halt the practice as they cannot see the damage they are doing.

"These trawls - whose use is now widespread - are extremely damaging. In an experiment off Alaska, 55% of cold-water coral damaged by one pass of a trawl had not recovered a year later. Scars up to 4km long have been found in the reefs of the north-east Atlantic Ocean. And in heavily fished areas around coral seamounts off southern Australia, 90% of the surfaces where coral used to grow are now bare rock. When covered with marine life, these seabed areas provide habitat for juvenile fish and other species. Like removing forest, removing this cover decreases the area available for marine species to live and thrive in."

- WWF-Fishing Problems: Destructive Fishing Practices