Ecological Impact of Tropical Shrimp Trawling

The ICSF commissioned Coonamessett Farm to prepare a report on the ecological impact of shrimp trawling in tropical waters. The report provides an overview of shrimp fishing including sources of wild caught and farmed shrimp as well as the international trade of the shrimp. There is a detailed discussion of bycatch in the shrimp fisheries of the world and the potential of mitigating the bycatch by gear modification. The environmental impact of shrimp trawling on habitat is assessed. The report establishes a set of criteria against which fishing gears can be evaluated for selectivity and environmental safety.