UN Weighs Seamount Bottom Trawling Phase-Out
Proposed UN Sustainable Fisheries Resolution would phase out bottom trawling on seamounts in international waters by the end of next year.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Environmental
Negotiations on the UN General Assembly's Sustainable Fisheries Resolution are due to wrap up in New York. A proposal in the talks would phase out bottom trawling on seamounts in international waters by the end of next year.
Why it matters
Bottom trawling drags large, weighted nets across the sea floor and is indiscriminate, and its scars can show no sign of full recovery after four decades. Only 1.5 per cent of known seamounts are currently protected from the practice.
The figure is drawn from the total known seamount count, of which 1.5 per cent is protected from bottom trawling. Whether the phase-out proposal will survive negotiations has not yet been determined.
The players
United Nations General Assembly
The UN's principal deliberative body, where the Sustainable Fisheries Resolution is being negotiated.
The details
Bottom trawling drags large, weighted nets across the sea floor, and the proposal would phase the practice out on seamounts in international waters by the end of next year. The negotiations are taking place at the United Nations in New York.
Timeline
End of next year: proposed deadline to phase out bottom trawling on seamounts in international waters.
Seasonal Patterns
The proposal sits within the annual UN General Assembly Sustainable Fisheries Resolution negotiation cycle. It extends that resolution's ongoing attention to high-seas fishing practices to seamounts specifically.
If adopted, the phase-out would change which seamounts in international waters can be trawled after next year. The practice's scarring of the sea floor is one reason the proposal targets these areas.
The takeaway
Protecting seamounts from bottom trawling currently covers a very small share of known sites. Watching the outcome of the New York negotiations will show whether that share grows.
Further reading
For more on the ocean ecosystems at stake, see Environmental coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
