In the 1970s, for instance, West Coast trawlers were landing 11,000 tonnes of bocaccio a year.In 2001, just before the fishery was closed, the catch was 214 tonnes.
A number of flights were also affected.Visibility of just a few hundred metres led to a minor collision between a jetfoil and a mainland fishing boat off Lantau Island .
In the Gulf of Mexico, trawlers ply back and forth year in year out, hauling vast nets that scarify the seabed and allow no time for plant and animal life to recover.