maximios


The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction has won the 2013 Katerva Ecosystem Conservation Award! The Katerva award is hailed as “the Nobel Prize of Sustainability.” The Katerva Award, now in its third year, draws upon a network of experts from science, business, academia, finance, and government to identify innovative projects in ten different categories that […]

Bycatch in gillnets poses a serious threat to many marine mammals around the world. A new Theme Section in Endangered Species Research evaluates techniques to reduce marine mammal bycatch, including: Acoustic deterrents Non-Acoustic gear deterrents Time-area closures Gear switching Many of the papers included in the section were presented at the International Marine Mammal Bycatch-Gillnet […]

A June 2014 article in The Guardian highlights the Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction’s research model, which uses partnerships between marine scientists and fishermen to find ways to reduce bycatch.

Bycatch in gillnets is a serious threat to the franciscana dolphin (Pontopoia blainvillei), Brazil’s most endangered dolphin. Gillnets are virtually invisible barriers for these dolphins, who frequently get trapped and drown in them.  A collaborative project to reduce dolphin bycatch in gillnets, conducted by Projeto BioPesca with the Bycatch Consortium and funded by the Lenfest Ocean Program, was […]

Scott Landry, Director of the Whale Rescue Team at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, and a partner on many of the Consortium’s research projects, was recently in the Pacific Standard’s article The Whale Wrangler. Watch Large Whale Entanglement Simulator Video Illustration by Scott Landry

While most of the research and development of bycatch reduction methods is focused in developed nations and commercial fisheries, some of the most severe coastal gillnet bycatch challenges are likely to be found in artisanal gillnet fisheries in developing nations. Efforts to address challenges in these coastal regions are stymied by a lack of information […]

Hundreds of thousands of birds are injured or killed every year in fisheries around the world. This new website puts a wealth of information helpful in reducing bycatch right at the fingertips of those who need it most—fishermen, conservationists, and those promoting fishery sustainability. The web-based map tool—Seabird Maps & Information for Fisheries—provides information on […]

On June 16, 2016, Massachusetts Secretary for the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Matthew Beaton, announced a grant to NEAq researchers for developing and testing ropes of reduced breaking strength that are practical for fishing but can also help reduce whale entanglements. Here is the full story as featured in the Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/16/development-whale-friendly-…

A recent scientific publication in Marine Mammal Science of research supported by the Bycatch Consortium provides evidence that the visual detection ability of North Atlantic right whales is consistent with the transmission spectra of its primary prey, the copepod Calanus finmarchicus. Light radiance, which is necessary for these monochromat whales to visually perceive these copepods, did not appear […]

Knowlton, A.R., Robbins, J., Landry, S., McKenna, H.A., Kraus, S.D. and T.B. Werner New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston, MA 02110; [email protected] 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 […]

Broadhurst, M.K. and S.J. Kennelly Composite-panel codend netting decreased catch of non-target species, including commercially important whiting, while increasing catches of prawns in the NSW, Australia oceanic prawn-trawl fishery. Increases in retained octopus and red mullet and discarded eastern blue spot flathead (probably due to their large size) were observed.

Sarda, F., B. Moli, and I. Palomera Sorting grids were found to reduce bycatch of juvenile hake (Merluccius merluccius) in demersal trawl fishery in the western Mediterranean Sea. http://www.icm.csic.es/scimar/pdf/68/sm68n3435.pdf

Scandol, J.P., T.J. Underwood, and M.K. Broadhurst Five codend designs and four behavioral-type bycatch reduction devices were tested to reduce fish bycatch in the broad squid (Photololigo etheridgei) and bottle squid (Loliolus noctiluca) trawl fishery in New South Wales, Australia. Reducing posterior circumference, increasing mesh size, and changing to diamond-shaped mesh did not improve trawl […]

, Behavioural Responses of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) to Two Acoustic Deterrent Devices in a Northern Feeding Ground off Iceland, Aquatic Mammals , v. 46(6), 2020 , ps 584-602 Aalbers, S.A., Stutzer, G.M. and Drawbridge, M.A., The effects of catch-and-release angling on the growth and survival of juvenile white seabass captured on offset circle and […]