Can light-guided shrimp fishing reduce the impact of bottom trawling?

Swedish project to test if lights can guide shrimp into nets while reducing the seabed impacts, fuel use and gear wear associated with bottom trawling

Researchers in Sweden are testing a light-guided shrimp fishing system that can guide shrimp into nets, offering a potential way to reduce the environmental impacts of bottom trawling while maintaining catches.

The EU-funded project, known as Light Trawling, is evaluating whether lights can guide shrimp into a trawl without the gear dragging along the seafloor. The approach aims to reduce the environmental impact of bottom trawling while lowering fuel use and equipment wear.

The project brings together Sotenäs Municipality, fishing association FF Norden and Chalmers Industriteknik. The technology is based on a concept first developed in Iceland and is being adapted for Swedish fishing vessels and seabed conditions.

“We have to start thinking differently when it comes to how we fish,” said Sixten Söderberg, a member of FF Norden who helped launch the project after learning about the Icelandic technology. “The marine environment is in poor condition and finding more sustainable methods is absolutely necessary.”

Instead of dragging heavy gear across the seabed, the system uses lights to attract shrimp upward into a trawl that operates above the bottom. According to the project partners, the lighter gear also creates less water resistance, which could reduce fuel consumption and wear on fishing equipment.

Researchers are now testing how the system performs under commercial fishing conditions. The trials are examining factors including the weight of the light units, how water clarity and currents affect the lights, and how high above the seabed the gear can operate while still catching shrimp.

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The partners said the project is still in the testing phase, and further work is needed to determine whether the technology can deliver reliable catches while reducing impacts on the seafloor.

“We need a living ocean,” said Söderberg. “There must be something left for the next generations, and to ensure this, we need to do things differently.”

If successful, the researchers said the light-guided system could provide a lower-impact alternative for shrimp fisheries by reducing pressure on the seabed while helping fishing businesses remain economically viable.

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