Clearly, not much can resist these marine bulldozers. Boulders up to 25 tons have been displaced. Today's heavy gear is able to trawl rough bottom previously avoided for fear of damage to the nets. Carter Reef Tree-like sea life fixed to the bottom risks being crushed or broken off by the trawls. Thickets of corals, sponges, kelps, sea anemones, seagrasses, and seafans form hiding places for young fish so they can escape from predators.
Juvenile cod survive and grow better on complex bottoms.
On the Atlantic coast adult halibut, lobsters, and pollack prefer such bottom habitat. Studies by Dr. Michael J. Risk of McMaster University indicate ages of at least 500 years for seafans taken off the Atlantic coast of Canada. Clear-cutting this habitat means long recovery times. If the colorful scenes of the ocean seabed were more visible, the public would be more vocal over their protection. Here are the words on diver-writer Diane Swainson, who describes one Pacific coast ecosystem.