Distribution:  Tropical and warm temperate waters 30˚N to 35˚S, with the exception of the Mediterranean Sea Bycatch Threat:  Gillnets, purse seines, longlines Historically, the whale shark has been hunted for its meat and liver oil. Whale shark fins are considered inferior in quality and the species is generally not targeted for its fins, although a […]

Acoustic harassment devices Alternative leader design Alternative offal discharge Buoy line messenger system Electromagnetic deterrents Fish escape windows/separator devices Fish instead of squid bait Metal oxide/barium sulfate nets Passive acoustic deterrents Sinking/weighted lines/baits Trap guards (T-bars, otter guards)

Sign Up To Receive News Updates Mediterranean Monk Seal The once-abundant Mediterranean monk seal has been adversely impacted by human activities, ranging from exploitation for fur and oil to habitat fragmentation, for centuries. Today, one of the greatest threats facing…

Do circle hooks reduce bycatch?…It depends. Last week, NOAA hosted over 160 marine scientists, fisheries managers, gear experts, and commercial and recreational fishermen, from 20 countries, in Coral Gables, FL, for the first international symposium on circle hooks in research, management and conservation.  While we all came away more informed about circle hooks, we left with more […]

The 37th Annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum The Fishermen’s Forum provides an opportunity for fishermen and others in the seafood industry to meet with fisheries managers and state and federal representatives in a neutral setting. There are over 30 free seminars on subjects ranging from fishing gear to fishing regulations. Forum information Location: Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine […]

Oportunidad de Consultoría  Líder Colector Nacional de Datos de Pesquerias (International Marine Mammal Bycatch Assessment Project) Resumen El New England Aquarium (Boston, USA) busca contratar a tres Lideres Colectores Nacionales de Datos para un proyecto que evalúa la captura incidental de mamíferos marinos en tres países : Ecuador, Chile y Tailandia. La captura incidental es […]

Underwater sound-emitting devices (maximum level of intensity equivalent to approximately 175 dB re 1 µPa @ 1m) attached to fishing gear, principally gillnets. [Under NOAA’s Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan for the Gulf of Maine, the sound output intensity for pingers is stipulated as 10 (±2) kHz at 132 (±4) dB re 1 µPa @ […]

Rope consisting of polypropylene blended with a phosphor that glows a bright yellow-green underwater in wavelengths large cetaceans can see. It glows for 48 hours after activation at an intensity a human can see readily at 20 yards (18 m). The design is based on the premise that with increased visibility cetaceans and perhaps turtles […]

The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction has won the 2013 Katerva Ecosystem Conservation Award! 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, […]

Submitted by Kate McClellan on March 25, 2014 – 09:40 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 […]

Submitted by Kate McClellan on January 21, 2014 – 12:11 The 20th Biennial Conference on Marine Mammals was held at Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand from December 9 to 13, 2013. Over 1000 scientists came together from around the world for 357 talks and about 400 posters about marine mammals. This year’s theme was “Marine […]

Submitted by Kate McClellan on November 19, 2013 – 17:12 The workshop covered topics such as time-area closures, as well as several methods under evaluation in different parts of the world for reducing the bycatch and subsequent mortality of odontocetes in longline gear, including acoustic deterrents, weak hooks, and net sleeves.Many questions remain in understanding the […]

Species:  Photo: Mass DMF, taken under NOAA 50 CFR 222.310 with authorization of the ESA Distribution:  Circumglobal in tropical to sub-polar waters Bycatch Threat:  Longlines, gillnets, trawls, pot/traps IUCN Status:  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 […]

Species:  Distribution:  Estuarine and freshwater habitats of the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific; also found in coastal waters of this region Bycatch Threat:  IUCN Status:  Vulnerable, with five Critically Endangered subpopulations The principal threat to the Irrawaddy dolphin throughout much of its range is accidental entanglement in gillnets (Smith et al 2007). Freshwater populations of the […]