Search The Database

The present study was designed to incorporate stakeholder input and fisher expertise in the design of mobulid (mantas and devil rays) bycatch technology in large-scale tuna purse seine fisheries operating in the EPO (Eastern Pacific Ocean). Surveys and focus groups of fishers suggested that the primary obstacles to mitigating mobulid bycatch are 1) inability to sight them before capture, 2) lack of appropriate response equipment on board, and 3) the difficulty of releasing large individuals. Many suggestions were made for both pre-capture and post-capture bycatch mitigation strategies.

This study used modeling to estimate Kemp's ridley and green sea turtle bycatch in major coastal fisheries across the southeastern USA from 196-2017. Results estimate that bycatch in recreational fisheries during this time was even greater than the sum of bycatch that occurred in coastal fisheries considered high risk to sea turtles, such as trawls, gillnets and bottom longlines. Despite being less abundant in the region than green sea turtles, Kemp's ridley sea turtles have higher bycatch rates in recreational fisheries, probably due to their nearshore distribution and carnivorous diet that attracts them to baited lures.

This study trialed the use of  on-demand, acoustic recovery systems/ on-demand gear (ODGs) as an alternative to vertical buoy lines (VBLs) to reduce North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) entanglement risk in commercial lobster and crap trap fisheries in offshore New England. Trials occurred between 2020 and 2023, and 5,798 hauls were completed using 10 different ODG prototypes. Recovery success of hauls increased throughout the trials as participants gained more experience with the gear, and fishers were able to use the gear to successfully access areas that prohibit VBLs. 

This study investigated harbor porpoise bycatch in bottom gillnets and trammel nets targeting turbot (Scophthalmus spp.) in the Black Sea between 2019-2021 via independent observers, questionnaires and stranding data. Cetaceans were caught on 55% of trips, and most were harbour porpoises. The study confirmed that bycatch is the most serious and immediate threat to the Black Sea harbour porpoises, with as many as 16,200 individuals caught annually. 

This study experimented with the use of Looming-Eye Buoys (LEBs) attached to gillnets in the Icelandic lumpfish fishery to reduce seabird bycatch, and experiments took place in spring 2022. LEBs are intended to be a visual deterrent that mimics a predator's eyes. The LEBs did not have a significant impact on target catch or bycatch, but results suggest a strong correlation between seabird bycatch and depth; the authors estimate that limiting fishing to waters below 50m deep could save between 5000 and 9300 seabirds every year.

This study investigated bycatch events in the northern South China Sea through interviews of fishers. The majority of interviewed fishers reported an estimated 7,464 annual bycatch events, with sea turtles encountered most commonly followed by Indo-Pacific finless porpoises, whale sharks, and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. The gear most associated with bycatch were gillnets, trawl nets, and seine nets. Modeling suggests that bycatch may be influenced by distance from the coast and water depth for marine mammals and sea turtles, but by administrative region for whale sharks.