Scallop fishing, how to destroy marine habitat.

This is part of a scallop boat's gear.

The metal mesh purses are made of interlinked steel rings. The metal making the rings is about nine millimetres diameter so the purses are heavy. There are four of these on each bar making the assembly about four metres wide. The whole lot is towed over the seabed, one from each side of a boat. Many boats are doing this,six or eight in this area, day after day, week after week, dragging these chunks of metal up and down Lyme Bay at more than walking pace, hour after hour. Out in Lyme Bay there used to be slow growing cold water coral patches and weeded areas where fish, including black bream, gather to breed and lay their eggs.

Why drag the seabed bare?, because it is trendy to order scallops in trendy restaurants. A sustainable scallop fishery is one where divers collect only those fit for the table and who avoid damage to the marine ecosystem. The scallops will of course be more expensive.
Still fancy scallops for dinner ?

Further Reading........Marine Conservation Society Press Release.