Investigations by Greenpeace have shown industrial fishing fleets using destructive bottom trawling are invading previously pristine areas of the Barents Sea in the Norwegian Arctic.
As climate change steadily diminishes the extent and annual duration of the sea ice, this and other areas of the Arctic Ocean that were previously ice-covered for all or much of the year are becoming accessible to commercial exploitation. Sea ice loss in the northern Barents Sea is turning it into a new hunting ground for industrial fishing. Fishing brings with it the threats of habitat degradation and bycatch, potentially wiping out marine life and putting this whole fragile ecosystem at risk.
A groundbreaking Greenpeace investigation focused on part of the Norwegian Barents Sea, including an analysis of vessel movements over three years to September 2015, has shown that large numbers of fishing vessels from companies with a global reach have been advancing into areas previously covered by ice.