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We are headed out into the Atlantic towards international waters,

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right in the middle of the ocean where trawlers come to ply their trade.

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The fish they are bringing up to the surface were caught hundreds of metres below.

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These, for instance, are rat tails.

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These fisheries first emerged some 20 years ago,

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but where there are fish, there are necessarily fish habitats.

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Ecosystems of remarkable biodiversity are to be found at depths of between 400 and 2000 metres,

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such as corals, which play host to many unique species.

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Corals live not only in warm tropical waters, but also in cold waters,

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at great depths where they can form coral reefs.

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Over 800 species of fish and invertebrates can be found there.

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When you trawl over a coral ecosystem, it largely destroys the structure of that coral ecosystem.

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It's a highly destructive method of fishing.

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It causes a tremendous amount of collateral damage.

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In addition to purely environmental considerations, there are other concerns.

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We didn't want to go in the corals because it's very, very damaging for our trawls.

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And the other reason, of course, is that there's a lot of juvenile fish in these corals.

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So we want the juvenile fish to grow to be big fish so that we can harvest them later.

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Fishermen use heavy plates to keep the trawl on the ocean floor.

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The damage caused by these plates can be tremendous.

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This is what it looks like after the trawl's passage.

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And this is what it may have looked like before.

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This is an international problem.

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The European Union has already taken measures in its own waters.

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We have taken measures to ban bottom trawling, bottom gers, bottom set gers.

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And this means that we have done so, for example, to the west of Scotland,

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where we have identified sensitive marine habitats.

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We have done so also around the islands of the Azores, Madeira, and the Canaries.

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In December 2006, the United Nations adopted a resolution on sustainable fisheries to protect fragile marine habitats.

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During the debate, the European Union worked to get an ecosystem approach to managing these fisheries adopted.

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It also encouraged the regional fisheries organizations,

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which are responsible for high seas fisheries, to take this approach fully on board.

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We, as a community, would like to see to it that the relevant regional fisheries management organizations

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have the clout, the power to take action themselves in order to see to it that destructive fishing practices are eliminated.

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In those areas, such as the southwest Atlantic, where there are no regional fisheries organizations to regulate high seas fisheries,

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fishermen will now first have to submit a fishing plan.

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The authorities should then ensure that the fishing will not affect any vulnerable areas.

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The European Commission's position is quite balanced, since it allows for protection of fragile ecosystems where these need protecting,

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but also for ongoing economic activity for our fishermen, which is fundamental for their survival.

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Europe is also working to identify these fragile ecosystems through major research projects such as HERMES or OASIS.

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It's also collecting precise data on these fisheries worldwide with the aim of enhancing our knowledge,

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so as to protect these vulnerable marine habitats.