Penguins are one of the most threatened groups of seabirds, with 10 of the world’s 18 species listed as Vulnerable or Endangered on the IUCN Red List. At-sea threats, such as the bycatch of penguins in fishing gear has been the subject of few directed studies and has not been fully assessed. In this literature review, researchers assess which species and fishing gear are largest contributers to penguins globally.
Fishing-related seabird mortalities are considered the most pervasive threat to seabird conservation status. Specifically, warp wire interactions (warp strike) and net captures of trawl vessels in Australia’s Commonwealth-managed Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark fisheries has been identified as a growing concern. This paper describes an industry-led study that developed and tested the effectiveness of 2 experimental mitigation devices for trawl vessels: a "baffler" and a "water sprayer".
Although counting nesting females and nests has been widely used to assess sea turtle abundance, surveys of in-water populations can provide a more effective means of measuring the success of recovery actions. Here, the bycatch of turtles recorded in observer data from fishing trips in the Pamlico-Albemarle Estuarine Complex, North Carolina, in 1995−1997, 2001−2003, and 2007−2009 was leveraged to idenitfy changes in species composition and overall abundance throughut the three different fishing periods.
This study investigated the effect of acoustic pingers on the behavior of Burmeister's porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis) in the vicinity of the Peruvian small-scale driftnet fleet. Over a 4-yr period (2009-2012), 116 control (without pingers) and 94 experimental (with pingers) fishing sets were observed, and porpoise acoustic activity around nets was recorded using passive acoustic loggers (C-PODs). In regions of preferred habitat associated with cooler (17-18 C), shallow waters (within the 100 m.
1,700 lbf prototypes were developed and tested both in a lab and at sea to determine their fishing practicality. Use of these ropes have been documented as a strategy for reducing the incidence and severity of large whale entanglements in lobster pot buoy lines. Additionally, modeling work was carried out to assess the tensions placed on ropes when hauling gear in normal fishing operations and to evaluate what forces a whale might put on gear during an entanglement.
The Ropeless Consortium's 2019 annual meeting is on November 13, 2019. Check here for more information.
The United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization convened experts, including Consortium scientists, to produce technical guidelines on how to best prevent and mitigate marine mammal bycatch in fisheries. The draft report was reviewed and adopted by participants at the FAO “Expert meeting on the development of technical guidelines to reduce bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries”, on 17-19 September 2019 in Rome, Italy.
The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium's 2019 annual meeting is November 14-15, 2019. At this meeting, various stakeholders convene to discuss and share research, new techniques, management strategies, and other facets of right whale conservation. This is the only opportunity for this gathering and sharing of information and so is invaluable to the conservation of the species. For more information, visit www.narwc.org.
The Society for Marine Mammalogy holds regular, biennial, international meetings to enhance collaboration, share ideas, and improve the quality of research on marine mammals within the scientific community. The 2019 biennial meeting will be held jointly with the European Cetacean Society in a World Marine Mammal Science Conference. This conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain and brings together leaders in the field from all over the world, enabling discussion among scientists, policy makers, and other stakeholders to foster international partnerships and collaborations.