The 2026 United Nations’ (UN) Bottom Fisheries Workshop and Review marks a critical moment for deep-sea protection. Since 2004, a series of UN General Assembly resolutions has called for increasingly comprehensive measures to safeguard Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems from damage caused by deep-sea fishing practices, such as commercial bottom trawling.
Seamounts are recognized internationally as one such ecosystem due to their rich biodiversity, ecological importance, and high vulnerability to disturbance. Yet this same richness makes them a prime target for bottom trawlers. Fishing, and bottom trawling in particular, is the greatest current threat to seamount ecosystems, according to the UN Second World Ocean Assessment.
A central question for the 2026 Bottom Fisheries Review is whether bottom trawling can occur on seamounts without causing Significant Adverse Impacts. This briefing paper addresses that question through a meta-analysis of the existing evidence from post-trawling recovery studies.
Download the full brief for policymakers, “Bottom Trawling Causes Significant Adverse Impacts: Evidence from Global Seamount Studies” here.
More information on the UN Bottom Fisheries Review and a complete Advocacy Pack for policymakers is available here.