Unanswered Forum Topics

Porpoise rescue methods in the yellowfin purse seine fishery and the importance of Medina panel mesh size

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Eastern Pacific Ocean
Target catch
Tuna
Effect on bycatch species
Porpoises could not get their snout through 1 inch mesh panel.
Effect on target catch
N/A
Bycatch species
Phocoena phocoena (Harbor porpoise)
Reduction technique
Small mesh size
Fishing Gear
Trawls

Porpoise rescue methods in the yellowfin purse seine fishery and the importance of Medina panel mesh size

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Eastern Pacific Ocean
Target catch
Tuna
Effect on bycatch species
Porpoises could not get their snout through 1 inch mesh panel.
Effect on target catch
N/A
Bycatch species
Phocoena phocoena (Harbor porpoise)
Reduction technique
Small mesh size
Fishing Gear
Trawls

Porpoise rescue methods in the yellowfin purse seine fishery and the importance of Medina panel mesh size

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Eastern Pacific Ocean
Target catch
Tuna
Effect on bycatch species
Porpoises could not get their snout through 1 inch mesh panel.
Effect on target catch
N/A
Bycatch species
Phocoena phocoena (Harbor porpoise)
Reduction technique
Small mesh size
Fishing Gear
Trawls

Elasmobranch captures in the Fijian pelagic longline fishery

Submitted by morgaac on

Observer data collected between 2011 and 2014 from the Fijian longline fleet was analysed to characterize the shark and ray catch composition. In addition, factors that could significantly explain standardized catch rates were identified. Catch data were fitted to a generalized linear model to identify significant explanatory variables. The nominal catch rate for elasmobranchs was 0.610 per 1000 hooks. Twenty seven species of elasmobranchs were observed captured. Of the elasmobranchs captured, 48% are categorized as Threatened by the IUCN Red List.

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Elasmobranch captures in the Fijian pelagic longline fishery

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Fiji
Target catch
Tuna
Effect on bycatch species
27 species of elasmobranchs were observed caught. Catch rates were higher on J-shaped compared to circle hooks. Blue sharks and pelagic stingrays were the most common shark/ray.
Effect on target catch
N/A
Bycatch species
Elasmobranchs
Reduction technique
Circle hooks
Fishing Gear
Hooks-and-Lines

Elasmobranch captures in the Fijian pelagic longline fishery

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Fiji
Target catch
Tuna
Effect on bycatch species
27 species of elasmobranchs were observed caught. Catch rates were higher on J-shaped compared to circle hooks. Blue sharks and pelagic stingrays were the most common shark/ray.
Effect on target catch
N/A
Bycatch species
Elasmobranchs
Reduction technique
Circle hooks
Fishing Gear
Hooks-and-Lines

Elasmobranch captures in the Fijian pelagic longline fishery

Study Type
Field study in the wild
Location
Fiji
Target catch
Tuna
Effect on bycatch species
27 species of elasmobranchs were observed caught. Catch rates were higher on J-shaped compared to circle hooks. Blue sharks and pelagic stingrays were the most common shark/ray.
Effect on target catch
N/A
Bycatch species
Elasmobranchs
Reduction technique
Circle hooks
Fishing Gear
Hooks-and-Lines

Consortium's whale-release rope research in the CSM

Read the recent article in the Christian Science Monitor featuring NEAq researchers and fishermen from the Massachusett's South Shore on our science-industry collaborative project to evaluate hale-release rope for reducing whale entanglements incidence and severity.

Read the recent article in the Christian Science Monitor featuring NEAq researchers and fishermen from the Massachusett's South Shore on our science-industry collaborative project to evaluate hale-release rope for reducing whale entanglements incidence and severity: https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0417/How-a-better-rope-could…

Bycatch Consortium members at U.S. West Coast workshop

Consortium Director Tim Werner and industry member Patrice McCarron gave invited presentations at a west coast meeting on whale entanglements organized by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.

West coast whale entanglements are hitting historical highs, prompting government agencies, fishermen, researchers, and NGOs to collaborate in finding ways to reduce them. Werner and McCarron shared their perspectives through invited talks and discussions during the March 29-20, 2017 workshop in Portland, Oregon, organized by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. A list of workshop outputs and other documents is available at http://www.psmfc.org/crab/

New Consortium-supported research published

Jeffry Fasick of University of Tampa and colleagues show North Atlantic right whales perceive their prey using vision at multiple ocean depths.

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 high enough to support visual detection at all locations where it was measured.

Pinger response trials with Chilean dolphins in southern Chile

Submitted by morgaac on

Short term behavioral responses of Chilean dolphins (Cephalorhynchus eutropia) to acoustic alarms, or pingers, were tested using exposure-control experiments (pinger on/off treatments). Field trials were conducted in the south-eastern Chiloe Archipelago  between February and April of 2013. BananaBP154 pingers (FishTek Marine) were used for the tests. Static passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) techniques were used at two sites (Bahia Yaldad and Canal San Pedro) and land based observations, which included theodolite tracking, were also conducted at Bahia Yaldad.

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Unexplained die-off of North Atlantic right whales in Canada

Canadian authorities report an unprecedented spate of right whale deaths from the Gulf of St. Lawrence

This news item from CBC reports on the tragic death of five right whales all from the Gulf of St. Lawrence over the past few weeks. Canadian and US scientists are working in collaboration to document the event and determine the cause of death.

http://http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/six-dead-right-whales-1.4176832

Comprehensive estimates of seabird-fishery interactions for the US Northeast and mid-Atlantic

Submitted by morgaac on

Fisheries observer data from six gear types operating in the US Northeast and mid-Atlantic were analysed for seabird interactions. Between 1996 and 2014 an estimated 48,821 seabirds interacted with commercial fishing gear. This resulted in an estimated average interaction rate of 2,570 seabirds per year. The majority of interactions occurred in gillnet fisheries and involved shearwaters/fulmars. A comparison with previous work in the region was also conducted.

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Stress hormones and entangled right whales

A study by Dr. Rosalind Rolland and colleagues at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life demonstrated the utility of measuring stress of North Atlantic right whales using hormones extracted from whale feces. The study showed that whales entangled in fishing gear had significantly higher concentrations of these hormones than healthy animals or those killed by vessel strikes. 

Press Release:

Feces collected from entangled North Atlantic right whales reveals ‘sky-high’ stress levels

Endangered Species Research journal publishes pioneering whale feces research; also being used to investigate high numbers of deaths this summer

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