"�That's what the trawlers did to here. The fish got scarce."

This feature about bottom trawling in Belize was aired during #COP26 in a special event titled "Toko Telo COP26 Special: Bottom trawling and a zero-carbon future: what needs to change?". The panel discussion took a deep dive into bottom trawling and its contributions to the climate crisis.

Thank you to Blue Ventures for bringing together these fishers to highlight how the ban against bottom trawling in 2010 has helped to restore Belize fisheries over the last decade.





To see the full discussion:


Special: Bottom trawling and a zero-carbon future: what needs to change?

'Toko telo mahamasa-nahandro' is a Malagasy proverb describing how when cooking without a stove you need to bring three rocks together to hold a pot above a fire. The saying is understood to mean that in order to achieve great things you need to work together, taking different ideas from multiple people to make something that works well.

This event was chaired by Sophie Benbow, Fauna & Flora International and the Transform Bottom Trawling coalition.

This event consisted of two parts: The first hour featured a presentation of the latest evidence regarding bottom trawling and climate, an exclusive film screening from Belize on the impact of a trawling ban in coastal waters, a panel discussion with our experts and a live Q&A (in English and French).

Present current research on the contribution of bottom trawling to the climate crisis and its broader social and ecological impacts

Explore the impacts of bottom trawling restrictions in West Africa and Belize and present opportunities for bottom trawling management in Europe

Facilitate cross-sectoral learning by discussing approaches to bottom trawling management in diverse global geographies

Discuss policies that exist or could be developed to mitigate the impact of bottom trawling on coastal fisheries, ecosystems and the climate.