Bycatch Reduction Techniques Fact Sheets
A summary of bycatch reduction techniques
- Acoustic deterrent devices, including pingers, 2017
- Whale-release rope, 2020
Unanswered Forum Topics
Testing the freelock fish selector
Study Type
Field study in the wild
Target catch
Salmon
Effect on bycatch species
Reduced it by 30%
Effect on target catch
None
Bycatch species
Reduction technique
Fishing Gear
Testing the freelock fish selector
Study Type
Field study in the wild
Target catch
Salmon
Effect on bycatch species
Reduced it by 30%
Effect on target catch
None
Bycatch species
Reduction technique
Fishing Gear
Testing the freelock fish selector
Study Type
Field study in the wild
Target catch
Salmon
Effect on bycatch species
Reduced it by 30%
Effect on target catch
None
Bycatch species
Reduction technique
Fishing Gear
Testing the freelock fish selector
A fish selector reduced bycatch by 60% in the Seattle salmon gillnet fishery.
Testing the freelock fish selector
A fish selector reduced bycatch by 60% in the Seattle salmon gillnet fishery.
Courts side with Maine lobstermen
A recent ruling favors lobster fishing over the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale
New funding is available under the Global Fund for Marine Mammal Bycatch Solutions
Applications are now being accepted under the Global Fund for Marine Mammal Bycatch Solutions. Please see the attached file for more information including how to apply.
Ocean Associates, Inc., in collaboration with the Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction and with funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service Office
Ropeless fishing gains traction in Massachusetts
Some fishermen are taking advantage of available federal funding and gear to try out ropeless gear in Massachusetts, and increasingly in Maine as well.
State and federal governments are looking at opening fishing areas closed to fishing because of high entanglement risk to North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). See
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/07/04/business/ropeless-gear-pilot…
2023 Grants awarded under the Global Fund for Maarine Mammal Bycatch Solutions
From a pool of applicants four projects were selected focused on bycatch assessment and mitigation.
Congratulations to the successful applicants:
Institution: Oregon State University
NOAA Right Whale discovered dead off of Martha's Vineyard appears to have been caused by lobster line from Maine State waters
For more information, please see the reports directly from NOAA. Here is the link: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/examination-continues-caus…
For many years Maine lobster fishermen have maintained that their gear is not involved in right whale entanglements. Nevertheless, many scientists believed that this had more to do with cryptic entanglements in which very few entanglements are observed and thus there would not be an opportunity to study from where the entangling gear originated.