Passive acoustic deterrents in the form of chains of metallic beads and air-filled plastic tubing attached to gillnets in Australia did not reduce bycatch of two small cetaceans: the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and Spinner dolphin (Stenella longiristris). A sub-surface set gillnet (set 4.5 m below the surface) in Australia reduced cetacean catch rate […]
Comparison of three seabird bycatch avoidance methods in Hawaii pelagic longline fisheries
Side-setting in combination with a bird curtain resulted in the lowest seabird– Black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis)–capture rate when placed on pelagic longline gear for tuna and swordfish in Hawaiian waters when compared to underwater setting chutes and blue-dyed bait.
Trial setting of deep longline techniques to reduce bycatch and increase targeting of deep-swimming tunas
Pelagic longlines were weighted with lead weights, enabling them to fish deeper in the water column than traditional pelagic longlines. Weighted longlines caught 31 target species with a slightly higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) of 1.3 fish/100 hooks (49 kg/100 hooks) compared to traditional gear (38 target species and a CPUE of 1.08 fish/100 […]
Incidental catch of marine turtles by Spanish bottom trawlers in the western Mediterranean
A questionaire administered to the bottom trawling fleet in the western Mediterranean (northeastern Spain) reported 238 bycacth events involving loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), calculated as a monthly CPUE of .09. The authors dicuss this figure relative to nearby coastal regions and suggest some possible mitigation measures.
Performance in 2005 of an alternative leader design on the bycatch of sea turtles and the catch of finfish in Chesapeake Bay pound nets, offshore Kiptopeake, VA: Data and results of preliminary analyses
An alternative leader design reduced loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle interactions in a Chesapeake Bay pound net fishery for finfish. There was no change in catch of weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), croaker (Micropogonias undulates), and harvestfish (Peprilus alepidotus).
International Marine Mammal – Gillnet Bycatch Mitigation Workshop
Fisheries bycatch is the principal threat to many marine mammals. In some cases, bycatch reduction devices have been shown to mitigate the bycatch of non-target species, but the scale of the problem outpaces progress in finding solutions. In particular, bycatch in coastal gillnet fisheries is one of the most immediate threats facing many marine mammal […]
Whale Entanglements in Fishing Gear | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
In 2015, New England Aquarium researchers and collaborators published a paper in Conservation Biology titled Effects of fishing rope strength on the severity of large whale entanglements correlating rope strength with increased risk and severity of large whale entanglements (Knowlton et al. 2016). As a result of that study, the authors recommended that rope strengths […]
Deep-sea benthic habitats and the impacts of trawling on them in the offshore Greenland halibut fishery, Davis Strait, west Greenland. | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Demersal trawl gear used to catch Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in west Greenland. A towed vide sled recorded trawling impacts on seafloor fauna. Trawling effort was significantly linked with community composition, with a negative association between trawling effort and abundance of some taxa, including some vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) indicator species, including a regionally rare […]
Experimental determinations of factors affecting the sink rates of baited hooks to minimize seabird mortality in pelagic longline fisheries | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Experiments were conducted aboard pelagic longline vessels off the east coast of Australia to determine the effects of different bait species (blue mackerel, yellow tail mackerel and squid), live and dead bait, weight of leaded swivels (60 g, 100 g and 160 g) and leader length (2 m, 3 m and 4 m distances between […]
Franciscana bycatch is not reduced by acoustically reflective or physically stiffened gillnets | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Experimental trials were carried out in Argentina comparing franciscana bycatch rates in standard gillnets with gillnets with increased acoustic reglectivity by infusion with barium sulphate (BaSO4) and increased flexural stiffness of the nylon twine. There was no significant difference in franciscana bycatch rates or target catch rates among the three net types.
Reduction of seabird bycatch in salmon drift gillnet fisheries: 1995 sockeye/pink salmon fishery final report | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Opaque mesh netting placed strategically on gillnets decreased bycatch of rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) and common mure (Uria aalge) seabirds but also decreased catch of target salmon species in the Puget Sound, USA.
Bycatch News | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Bottom trawls and bycatch UK proposes to extend trawling ban Support for reducing finning and bycatch of sharks Why we do what we do Who better than the incomparable David Attenborough to explain why our Conssortium exists? Please see : https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/2050515/breaking-david-attenborough-heartbreaking-update-end-of-life Entanglements of North Atlantic right whales in northwestern crab and lobster pot fisheries New […]
Deterring albatrosses from contacting baits during swordfish longline sets | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
Dyed bait, streamer lines, and weighted bait used in Hawaii longlines each resulted in reduced contact between seabirds (Black-footed (Phobastria nigripes) and Laysan (Phoebastria immutabilis) albatrosses) and bait.
What is Bycatch? | Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction
How Serious is Bycatch? Some would argue that bycatch is an acceptable consequence of supplying the world with wild-caught seafood. However, too often the scale of mortality is so high that it threatens the very survival of species and their environments. Every year, at least 7.3 million tons of marine life are caught incidentally. In […]