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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:

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 on the extent of the bycatch problem and the status of the species affected, as well as by social, cultural and economic factors that can cause artisanal fishing communities to resist implementing mitigation measures.

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

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. 

The Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction has been working collaboratively with the Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA) to identify innovative fishing gears and methods that are practical for fishermen but also reduce the frequency and severity of large whale entanglements from vertical lines (ropes that extend from the ocean surface to the trap on the ocean bottom).

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.

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 has been featured in the August 22, 2011 New York Times Science article, "Fishing Gear is Altered to Ease Collateral Costs to Marine Life".  

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 decades.