Japanese tuna hook 3.6mm S/S caught significantly more loggerhead sea turtles than non-offset 16/0 and 18/0 circle hooks and caught more turtles in the throat than the circle hooks in the Azores longline swordfish and blue shark fishery. Non-offset 18/0 circle hooks caught fewer loggerhead sea turtles than non-offset 16/0 circle hooks in the Azores […]
December 2025
Developing ultraviolet illumination of gillnets as a method to reduce sea turtle bycatch | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Two experiments were conducted to determine if 1) UV illumination reduced green sea turtle capture rates in large mesh gilllnets and 2) what was the impact of UV illumination on target catch rates in bottom-set gillnets. Paired tests were conducted using a control net and an experimental net with UV LEDs placed every 5 m […]
Chilean Dolphin | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Historically, the Chilean dolphin has been hunted both for food and for crab bait (Reeves et al 2008). Although cetaceans are now protected by law in Chile (Torres et al 1979), regulation enforcement is virtually nonexistent and temptation is high for impoverished fishermen to supplement their income by killing dolphins for bait (Dawson 2009; Reeves […]
Design, testing, and evaluation of an acoustic release system for offshore lobster pot buoy lines | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
An acoustic release system for offshore lobster buoy lines was successfully developed and tested for reducing right whale (Eubalanea glacialis) entanglements with vertical lines in the Gulf of Maine and southern New England lobster pot fishery.
Target strength of a nylon monofilament and an acoustically enhanced gillnet: predictions of biosonar detection ranges | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Metal oxide nets made from barium sulphate increased the detectability of gillnets by marine mammals when compared to nylon nets when approached at angles of incidence greater than normal incidence but less than 40 degrees. Hypothesized detection ranges indicate bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) should be able to detect metal oxide nets in time to avoid […]
White-chinned petrel | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The white-chinned petrel is the most common avian bycatch species in the Southern Ocean (Weimerskirch et al 1999; Gilman 2006; Robertson et al 2006; Birdlife International 2013). The high bycatch rate is due to seabirds, such as petrels, being attracted to pelagic and demersal longlines by bait and offal discarded from vessels (Gilman 2006; Bugoni […]
The response of sea turtles to vocalizations opens new perspectives to reduce their bycatch | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
This study recorded and analyzed vocalizations of green sea turtles off the Carribbean island of Martinique, and identified which sounds seemed to be linked to flight, fear, and social aspects. When these recordings of sea turtles were played to wild sea turtles, they demonstrated behavioral responses (vigilance and/or escape) to the sounds they produce, suggesting […]
Harbor Porpoise | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Although it is believed that the harbor porpoise population is not seriously in danger at present, incidental catch of the species in gillnets continues to be the primary threat throughout its range (Hammond et al 2008). Off the eastern coast of the US, an estimated 1200 to 2900 harbor porpoises were killed annually in gillnets […]
Leatherback Turtle | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The worldwide decline in leatherback turtles has been caused, in part, by bycatch in fisheries. Leatherback turtles most often entangled or hooked externally in pelagic longline fisheries (Garrison 2003), but are capable of swimming to the surface to breathe (Witzell and Cramer 1995). Although not all incidental captures lead to mortality, the number of leatherbacks […]
Thorny skate | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Data from the Northwest Atlantic suggests that the thorny skate began declining in the early 1980s and accelerated in the early 1990s (Burgess et al 2005). In US waters, dredging for scallops also poses a risk (Packer et al 2003). Additionally, a targeted fishery for the species emerged in Canada in order to meet a […]
The Secretariat of the International Whaling Commission is hiring for a Cetacean Bycatch Coordinator | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
CETACEAN BYCATCH MITIGATION COORDINATOR The IWC is seeking a Bycatch Coordinator to coordinate and implement the programme of work for the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI). The Coordinator will provide advice to the Commission, exchange information and liaise with other inter-governmental organisations, and support governments in addressing the complex issues and challenges relating to bycatch and […]
Franciscana | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
The main threat to the franciscana is bycatch in gillnet fisheries in its native coastal waters of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. Mid-coastal Brazil south to mid-coastal Argentina View other Featured Species >>
Capacity Building in Small-Scale Fisheries | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Final Ghana project report: 2023 Global Marine Mammal Bycatch Solutions Partners: Friends of the Nation, Partners: University of Cape Coast Final Report under the Global Solutions for Marine Mammal Bycatch project Partners: Oregon State University Final Report under the Global Solutions for Marine Mammal Bycatch project Partners: Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata – CONICET […]
Pilot Whales | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Bycatch of pilot whales (short-finned) occurs in the pelagic longline fisheries targeting swordfish, tuna, and shark in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. There are also records of pilot whales (long and short-finned) being taken in gillnet, trawl, and purse seine fisheries. “Whale-safe” hooks are being tested in the longline fishery that aim to reduce pilot whale bycatch by allowing […]