maximios

The incidental capture and mortality of non-target marine animals during fishing is known as bycatch, and is one of the principal threats to marine biodiversity worldwide. Why Does Bycatch Occur?  Much of the fishing industry targets specific species for capture. Unfortunately, other animals become hooked or trapped when attracted to the bait or target catch, or are […]

Promjinda, S., Siriraksophon, S., Darumas, N., Chaidee, P. Bangladesh, Indian, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation Sayan Promjinda Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Training Department PO Box 97 Phrasmautchedi, Samutprakarn 10290, Thailand Tests were conducted aboard pelagic longline vessels in the Bay of Bengal to determine if there were differences in the catch composition, catch […]

Graves, J. and Horodyski, A.Z. The authors conducted a review of post release mortality studies on billfish caught in recreational fisheries. Despite relatively so few studies involving many variables, the authors were able to detect some trends: 1) High speed trolling with artificial lures or a lure/natural bait combination (usually with J hooks) result in […]

Submitted by morgaac on March 28, 2016 – 16:47 Assessments of vision to reduce right whale entanglements There was a significant difference in first change in behavior between black and green ropes and red and orange ropes. Eubalaena glacialis (NA Right whale) Differently colored ropes

Entanglement in commercial fishing ropes threatens the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), a species largely restricted waters off of eastern North America. In recent years, serious entanglements have been increasing, and mortality from conflicts with fishing operations exceeds US legal mandates, with 83% of the population showing incidence of scarring as […]

The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction was recently featured in an August 27, 2011 editorial in the Boston Globe, “Saving Millions of Fish”. Fishermen and conservationists both want to avoid bycatch. The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction, based at the New England Aquarium, brings together fishermen and scientists to work together to find ways to […]

Technical Modifications Help Reduce Bycatch How do we tackle the more than 7.5 million tons of bycatch that occurs each year? How do we prevent the Vaquita from joining the extinct Yangtze River dolphin? How can we ensure the survival of the small population of remaining North Atlantic right whale? The technical modifications to fishing […]

Over 50 fishermen, whale scientists, fishing gear engineers, rope manufacturers, and marine wildlife disentanglement experts participated in a workshop to examine the dynamics of large whale entanglements in fishing gear. The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction organized this workshop to increase understanding about baleen whale entanglements and ultimately improve the evaluation methods for reducing their […]

On Monday, June 27, I took the Casco Bay Ferry in Portland to Long Island Maine with Heather Tetreault and Sarah Paquette from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and Kate Dawson from Maine Sea Grant to meet with local lobstermen and women as part of our project to document lobster fishing practices in Maine. We were […]

I sat down to talk about the Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction’s work with Andrew Lewin, who founded Speak Up for Blue, a website dedicated to communicating about ocean conservation. Part 1 of 5:  Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5: Check out Speak Up for Blue and Andrew’s interviews with other ocean conservation leaders. 

Sharks are the main bycatch group for pelagic longline fisheries. Shark interactions with fisheries can have negative financial and safety consequences for fisheries and are destructive to shark populations. A product that could deter sharks from fisheries that has no negative effect on the target fish would benefit both fisheries and shark populations. Sharks, unlike […]

The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch has been featured in the August 22, 2011 New York Times Science article, “Fishing Gear is Altered to Ease Collateral Costs to Marine Life”.   “The seafood on your plate is not the only animal that gave its life to feed you,” is one of the messages from Tim Werner, […]

In July, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) posted the Draft False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan, which proposes new regulations to protect false killer whales in Hawaii, which are currently being considered for listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Hawaiian false killer whale population has drastically declined over the last two […]

The dusky shark is currently listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, but populations continue to decline. The dusky shark is one of the slowest-growing, latest-maturing sharks, bearing small litters after a glong gestation period. These characteristics make the shark especially vulnerable to depletion by fisheries. In the Northwest Atlantic, dusky sharks began to decline in the 1970s, when […]