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Acoustic alarms elicit only subtle responses in the behavior of tropical coastal dolphins in Queensland, Australia

Submitted by morgaac on

Fumunda acoustic alarms were tested in the absence of nets to determine their ability to modify the behavior of Australian snubfin and humpback dolphins, with possible applications to gillnet fisheries. The alarms emitted a regular interval pulse of 300 ms every 4 seconds at 10 kHz frequency.  The behavior of the animals changed slightly when the alarms were used but the likelihood of them leaving the area was not significantly different from the control.  This suggests this type of acoustic alarm may not be useful as a bycatch mitigation measure for these species.

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Franciscana bycatch is not reduced by acoustically reflective or physically stiffened gillnets

Submitted by Kate McClellan on

Experimental trials were carried out in Argentina comparing franciscana bycatch rates in standard gillnets with gillnets with increased acoustic reglectivity by infusion with barium sulphate (BaSO4) and increased flexural stiffness of the nylon twine. There was no significant difference in franciscana bycatch rates or target catch rates among the three net types.  

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Reducing seabird bycatch in the South African joint venture tuna fishery using bird-scaring lines, branch line weighting and nighttime setting of hooks

Submitted by morgaac on

Several seabird bycatch mitigation techniques were tested aboard distant water tuna fisheries in the South African EEZ.  Two types of bird scaring designs, light lines with short streams vs. hybrid lines with a mix of streamer lengths were compared with unweighted branch lines. In addition, unweighted to weighted branch lines were tested and night vs. day setting with a combination of bird scaring lines were tested for their effects on seabird avoidance and targeted fish catch rates.

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