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The Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, in collaboration with the Global Bycatch Exchange and the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, is pleased to announce the availability of funding to support capacity building in developing countries for reducing marine mammal bycatch. More information

A network for learning and collaborating on reducing bycatch Find references and summaries of bycatch reduction studies and descriptions of bycatch mitigation techniques.  Learn more  We conduct research on bycatch reduction techniques. Learn more  Get access to information, global expertise, and become part of the solution. Learn more 

Fishery data collected from the Reunion Island and Sechelles pelagic longline fisheries (targeting swordfish and tuna) between 2004 and 2015 was used to propose depredation indicators and to assess depredation levels in these fisheries. The interaction rate (depredation) was significantly higher for sharks compared to toothed whales in both fisheries. However, there was a higher […]

In 2003 and 2004 the scallop industry, Coonamessett Farm, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Fisheries, with funding from the NOAA Fisheries Service, successfully tested a series of chains that excluded turtles from entering the dredge bag. In twelve trials, divers videoed the results of placing turtle carcasses in the path of a modified scallop […]

Campana et al. (2009; Mar Ecol Prog Ser 387:241–253) explored the survival of blue sharks (Prionace glauca) captured and released from the North Atlantic commercial longline fishery. We think that their comments and comparisons do not accurately reflect a previous survival study of blue sharks in Hawaii (Moyes et al. 2006; Trans Am Fish Soc […]

Two types of depredation mitigation devices (DMD) were designed and tested aboard pelagic longline fishing vessels targeting tunas and swordfish off the Seychelles.  The DMD’s were designed to reduce the damage and removal of fish from the fishing gear by predators such as toothed whales and sharks. The first DMD was termed “spider” and was […]

Baez, J.C., Garcia-Barcelona, S., Mendoza, M., Ortiz de Urbina, J.M., Real, R., Macias, D., Cory’s shearwater by-catch in the Mediterranean Spanish commercial longline fishery: implications for management, Biological Conservation , v. DOI 10.1007/s10531-014-0625-6, 2014 , ps 21 Baldwin, K., Byrne, J. and B. Brickett, Taut vertical line and North Atlantic right whale flipper interaction: Experimental […]

An experimental release panel was installed in purse seine nets to determine their ability to release both silky sharks and non-target finfish.  The release panels (5.5 m wide, extending down from the corkline for 11 m) were installed in a portion of the net that forms a “pocket” toward the end of net retrieval.  Dive […]

Acoustic pingers (Dukane Netmark 1000; frequency of 10-12 kHz and emit 300 ms tone every 4 sec with a source level range of 120-146 dB) were assessed to determine the effectiveness for reducing bycatch of dolphins and porpoises (common dolphins, dusky dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Burmeister’s porpoise, and pilot whales) by Peruvian small-scale driftnet fleets. Pingers […]

This study collected information on cetacean incidents (carcasses, injured and debilitated animals found onshore, entrapped in shallow water, entangled or floating offshore) that have occurred in New South Wales, Australia. Information on marine mammal incidents was reported to the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service and recorded into a Marine Fauna Events Database. […]

A semi-flexible exclusion grid with a bar spacing of 15.5 cm reduced dolphin bycatch in the Pilbara trawl fishery by close to 50% and reduced the bycatch of sea turtles, large sharks and rays. However, the fate of the dolphins that encountered the grid and escaped is unknown.

During the period 1998-2001, a survey to study the incidence of the drifting longline fishery on shark populations was carried out in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. A total of 8 different pelagic shark species were recorded in the catches of the Greek swordfish and albacore longline fisheries. Among them, the blue shark, Prionace glauca, was […]

Direct interactions between longline fisheries and many top predators such as toothed whales result in substatial impacts on fishing activity; depredating species and fish stocks. These issues continue to be a growing concern in fisheries worldwide, including the French Patagonian toothfish fishery. In this field study, researchers deployed data loggers on killer whales and sperm […]

A mechanical separating bycatch reduction device was tested in the Spencer Gulf king prawn trawl fishery to reduce the incidental capture of giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama) and blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus). Different sizes of Nordmore grids were tested. Two Nordmore grids were inserted into the posterior extension sections and triangular escape exits were cut […]