A study carried out by the university of Plymouth has found that shipwrecks are sustaining and protecting marine life, particularly in areas that are still trawled by fishermen.

The research found that the average density of marine life in areas still open to trawling was 240% greater within wreck sites than in sites actively used for bottom-towed fishing, the study said. In parts of the seabed within a 50 metre radius of the wrecks, the difference was even greater, with the density of marine life 340% greater than in the control sites.