The once-abundant Mediterranean monk seal has been adversely impacted by human activities, ranging from exploitation for fur and oil to habitat fragmentation that have occured over many centuries. Today, one of the greatest threats facing the remaining seals is accidental entanglement in fishing nets. Bycatch mortality occurs throughout the species’ range, and has been increasingly […]
December 2023
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2003 Supplement to the large whale gear research summary | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This supplement to a 2002 compendium of NOAA large whale entanglement prevention research includes newer studies, including evaluation of a time tension line cutter, and studies on neutrally buoyant groundline, load cell field work on gillnets, and recycling of polypropylene rope.
Bycatch News | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Do circle hooks reduce bycatch?…It depends. Last week, NOAA hosted over 160 marine scientists, fisheries managers, gear experts, and commercial and recreational fishermen, from 20 countries, in Coral Gables, FL, for the first international symposium on circle hooks in research, management and conservation. While we all came away more informed about circle hooks, we left with more […]
The impact of commercial crab traps on northern diamondback terrapins, Malaclemys terrapin terrapin | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Several versions of a terrapin excluder design were tested on crab traps to determine how effective they were in reducing terrapin bycatch and what the effect on catch rates of targeted crabs was. All tests consisted of modified and unmodified traps being set in an alternate fashion. A wire bar placed across the opening of […]
Using a double codend to reduce discard mortality | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
A double codend was compared to the standard codend in the Clarence River penaeid trawl fishery in southeastern Australia, to determine its effects on total catch, retained and discarded school prawns, sizes of discarded prawns, discarded fish and immediate and short-term mortalities of discarded juvenile school prawns. The only significant difference between gear types was […]
Articles | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Brcic, J., Herrmann, B., De Carlo, F. and Sala, A., Selective characteristics of a shark-excluding grid device in a Mediterranean trawl, Fisheries Research , v. 172, 2015 , ps 352-360 Brewer, D., Heales, D., Milton, D., Dell, Q., Fry, G., Venables, B., Jones, P., The impact of turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduction devices on […]
Developing visual deterrents to reduce sea turtle bycatch in gill net fisheries | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Visual cues are important in sea turtle foraging behavior and likely influence their interaction with fishing gear. This studey examined the potential effectiveness of three visual cues: 1) shark shapes, 2) illumination of nets by LED lights, and 3) nets illuminated with chemical lightsticks – for reducing green sea turtle bycatch in gillnets. The presence […]
The effect of light toriline on seabird by-catch and fish catch rates in the pelagic longline fishery off southern Brazil | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The use of light torilines (made with nylon monofilament branch lines and streamers made from other light material) on pelagic longlines reduced the incidental capture of seabirds by 64%. The capture of target species, including swordfish and blue sharks, was increased by 32% and 15.1% respectively when light torilines were used.
Bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) to reduce the incidental catch of cuttlefish in the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
A study was conducted aboard vessels from the South Australian Spencer Gulf prawn fishery to examine the utility of a mechanical-separating bycatch reduction device. The fishery targets prawns but has bycatch of giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) and blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus). Conventional codends were tested against small and large Nordmore-grids set at high and […]
Testing two types of acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) to reduce harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena (Cetacea: Phocoenidae), bycatch in turbot (Psetta maxima) set gillnet fishery in the Black Sea, Turkey | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The experiment evaluated the effectiveness of two types of pingers (Aquamark 100 and Aquamark 200) to reduce the bycatch rate of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in a set gillnet fishery in the Black Sea. The study also evaluated the effects of the pingers on catch of target and non-target fish species. There was no significant […]
Electrotrawling: a promising alternative fishing technique warranting further exploration | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This is a comprehensive, critical overview of studies on the use of electrotrawling in the North Sea. Electrotrawling, involves replacing the tickler chains or bobbins with electrical stimulation. The result is reduced contact with bottom habitats, reduced fuel costs and reduced discards. An overview on the current status and implementation of this technique in flatfish, […]
Development and efficacy of a bycatch reduction device for Wisconsin-type fyke nets deployed in freshwater systems | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Wisconsin-type fyke nets were modified in an effort to reduce the incidental bycatch of turtles, without significantly reducing the catch of targeted fish species. The tests were conducted in three rivers (Missouri, Mississippi and Gasconade) in Missouri. The net was modified by adding four lines in the vertical gap of the net and this modification […]
Review of research and assessments on the efficacy of sea lion exclusion devices in reducing the incidental mortality of New Zealand sea lions Phocarctos hookeri in the Auckland Islands squid trawl fishery | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The authors conducted an extensive literature review to determine if Sea Lion Excluder Devices (SLEDs) allow sea lions to escape from trawl nets and if they subsequently survived. In addtion, the literature was reviewed to determine if head trauma was likely when sea lions come into contact with stainless steel SLED grids. According to the […]