The scars of bottom trawling are still visible on seamounts in Chile’s Juan Fernández Archipelago, even 25 years after the fishing practice took place in the area, according to a new study. In 2024, scientists from Chile and the U.S. used remotely operated vehicles aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel R/V Falkor to survey […]

Twenty-five years after bottom trawling had taken place on three Juan Fernández seamounts, the researchers found that these sites experienced significant ecological changes, including declines in live coral cover, biodiversity and habitat complexity, along with signs of physical damage to the seafloor. Not only that, but the scientists observed that these seamounts had become overrun with oval-shaped cactus sea urchins (Dermechinus horridus), which appeared to be preying on corals near the trawled areas. This led the authors to hypothesize that the urchins could be “delaying the recovery and growth of cold-water coral colonies.”