This study investigated the impact of rope polymer type, breaking strength and diameter in relation to the injury severity of entangled baleen whales, primarily North Atlantic Right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Fishing gear removed from live and dead entangled whales from the US East Coast and Canadian Maritimes region between 1994 and 2010 were included in […]
December 2025
Fishing methods to reduce sea turtle mortality associated with pelagic longlines | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
18/0 circle hooks when compared with J hooks significantly reduce loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatherback (Dermocheles coriacea) sea turtle bycatch in Atlantic longline fisheries for pelagic swordfish. Circle hooks also reduced the rate of hook ingestion by loggerhead sea turtles. The combination of circle hooks and mackerel bait was the most effective in reducing sea […]
Instructions for Adding an Article Study | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
If you’re logged in, you can click here to add a study Register for an Account or Login First, if you haven’t already, you will need to register for an account. Adding a Study You must be logged in to add an article. Logged-in users can upload new studies to the website in just a few […]
Nylon barium sulphate gillnet reduces porpoise and seabird mortality | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Metal oxide nets containing barium sulphate (that increased their acoustic reflectivity and probably also their stiffness) reduced the bycatch of harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in an eastern Canada demersal gillnet fishery. No difference in catch of commercial fish species, including cod, pollock, haddock, and spiny dogfish, was observed between the nylon and barium sulphate nets. […]
Reducing incidental mortality of Franciscana dolphin Pontoporia blainvillei with acoustic warning devices attached to fishing nets. | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Pingers are effective in reducing the bycatch of Franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) but increase interactions between fishing gear and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia) in an Argentinian bottom gillnet fishery.
Selective characteristics of a shark-excluding grid device in a Mediterranean trawl | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This study tested the use of an excluder grid with 90mm bar spacing to reduce bycatch of blackmouth catshark (Galeus melastomus) in demersal trawl fisheries in the Mediterannean. The 90mm excluder grid was not very efficient in reducing blackmouth catshark bycatch because only the larger individuals were excluded, and the target catches of greater forkbeard […]
Effects of hook size on the catch variation, size selectivity, and bycatch of the bottom set longline fisheries targeting nemipterid fishes in the Philippines | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This study investigated 11 different longline hook sizes to increase catch of nemipterid fisheries while reducing bycatch in the Phillippines. The largest hook demonstrated the lowest catch in count and weight, but did catch larger individual fish. Middle-sized hooks led to higher target catch, but also higher bycatch. The authors suggest that larger hooks would […]
Exchange Profiles | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
EdgeTech is a leading manufacturer of underwater technology solutions. The company is known worldwide for its high quality products that include: deep sea acoustic releases, pop-up release systems, shallow water and long life acoustic releases, side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers, bathymetry systems, AUV and ROV-based sonar systems, combined and customized solutions. In addition to the […]
Interactions of Patagonian toothfish fisheries with killer and sperm whales in the Crozet Islands exclusive economic zone: an assessment of depredation levels and insights on possible mitigation strategies | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The Patagonian toothfish longline fishery has high levels of depredation by killer and sperm whales, which puts the whales at risk of being bycatch. Observations from 2003 to 2008 revealed significant variations of interaction rates with killer whales between vessels, suggesting the influence of operational factors on vessel interaction and depredation. When killer whales were […]
Development and observations of spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias reduction device in a raised footrope silver hake Merluccius bilinearis trawl | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
An excluder grate (grid) was tested in the silver hake trawl fishery in Massachusetts Bay to determine it’s effectiveness in reducing spiny dogfish bycatch. The effects of color (white or black), angle and direction of the 50 mm spaced grids were investigated through video observations and data collection. The number of spiny dogfish caught in […]
Rope-less fishing technology development | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This article describes the design and fabrication of a prototype rope-less fishing system that might be used in the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery. Rope-less fishing gear, which secures vertical fishing lines to the bottom until they are released for hauling, is a potential mitigation measure to reduce vertical line entanglements of marine mammals including […]
North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) ignore ships but respond to alerting stimuli | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Risk factors involving ship strikes and North Atlantic right whales were investigated in this study. A multi-sensor digital acoustic recording tag (DTAG) was used to measure the responses of whales to four stimuli: vessel noise, social sounds of conspecifics, and a signal designed to alert whales. Silence was used as the control measure. Testing was […]
Gear technology in Nephrops trawl fisheries | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This paper presents a review of studies on gear technologies used to improve species and size selection in Nephrops trawl fisheries in the North Sea, Irish Sea, Kattegat and Skaggerak. The following categories of gear modifications were analyzed: separator grids, separator/guiding panels, square-mesh panels, capture avoidance designs, and codend modifications. The best gear design depends […]
Review of sinking groundline performance in the Maine lobster fishery, with recommendations for improving its fishability | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The purpose of this project was to determine ways to enhance the performance of sinking groundline, involving three approaches: (1) Reviewing previous research and lobstermen’s experience with sinking groundlines; (2) Recording directly from lobster fishermen of the Gulf of Maine the practical challenges they encountered in converting to sinking groundline; (3) Producing visual observations of actively […]