Recently a new threat has developed for the underwater ecosphere - Deep sea trawling.
Excess fishing of common species like cod and hake has resulted in fisheries heading towards deeper waters for rarer species like the orange roughy, alphonsino and roundnose grenadier.
Fishing in deeper waters is done by vessels known as trawlers. These trawlers drag heavy fishing nets on the sea bed at great depths. Often these nets are weighed with chains and heavy rollers to trap the fish. It results in not only destroying the coral colonies that are abundant on the sea beds but also a part of the fishes and shrimps that they are aiming to catch. The worst damage often occurs to seamounts (underwater mountains whose peaks do not surface above water) which are usually teeming with life.
According to the report by the Zoological Society of London around 52 percent of the worlds seamount ecosystems lie outside the waters that are regulated by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO).
There are absolutely no regulations on fishing in the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans.
It is hoped that the governments and fisheries themselves take up the issue, considering that rare and as yet undocumented ecosystems are being destroyed or brought to near extinction.