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Articles by Bycatch Mitigation
Examining the efficacy of a sanctuary to protect sharks in the Galapagos Marine Reserve
1 INTRODUCTION Marine biodiversity has declined significantly in recent decades, primarily due to unsustainable fishing practices and habitat loss (Lotze & Worm, 2009; Reynolds et al., 2005; Worm & Tittensor, 2011). Many marine species have become ecologically extinct (McCauley et al., 2015) or threatened with extinction (Pacoureau et al., 2021).
UPDATE: Wisdom is back, and so is her mate
Wisdom shows her well-known red colour band Z333, photograph by Jon Plissner, USFWS UPDATE: "This year’s return marks a slightly earlier arrival for Wisdom compared to recent seasons. Refuge staff are delighted to announce her mate has arrived on November 25! He is banded as EX25 and does not [yet] have a name. Although Wisdom is not on our live camera, we are so excited to see a potential egg in the near future." {click here}.
Maintaining Momentum for Sustainable Tuna Fisheries
Maintaining momentum for sustainable tuna fisheries: The need for science-based conservation and effective monitoring in the Indian Ocean. By Holly Koehler and Dr. Hilario Murua The April 2025 Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) annual meeting presents a crucial opportunity for member nations to continue to increase cooperation toward the adoption of science-based tuna conservation measures; improved bycatch mitigation measures; and enhanced monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS) mechanisms.
Global habitat predictions to inform spatiotemporal fisheries management: Initial steps within the framework
Tuna Regional Fishery Management Organizations (tRFMOs) are increasingly interested in spatiotemporal management as a tool to reduce interaction rates with vulnerable species. We use blue shark (Prionace glauca) as a case study to demonstrate the critical first steps in the implementation process, highlighting how predictions of global habitat for vulnerable life stages can be transformed into a publicly-accessible spatial bycatch mitigation tool.
Women in Fisheries No 39 (March 2024)
This 39th edition of the Pacific Community’s Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin has 14 original articles from the Pacific Islands region. Our stories tend to be from a smaller subset of countries, and I would like to ask if our readers can help connect me to people from some of our more under-represented Pacific Island countries such as Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, and Wallis and Futuna.
Bycatch mitigation of endangered marine life
Abstract The fishing gears deployed by fishermen in the world's seas and oceans not only capture target species but also unintentionally ensnares non-target species, a phenomenon known as by-catch. This unintended capture of marine life can present significant challenges to the fishing industry, with adverse impacts on both the environment and species such as sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and elasmobranchs, which may be injured or even killed.
NOAA Fisheries releases report on killer whale entanglements in Alaska from 1991-2022
Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – NOAA Fisheries has released a new technical memo, Killer Whale Entanglements in Alaska: Summary Report 1991–2022. It provides comprehensive details of 37 reported killer whale entanglement cases in Alaska over the past three decades. This technical memo has been in development since the spring of 2023 before reports of summer 2023 killer whales. The entanglement of killer whales in fishing gear or marine debris is a serious animal welfare issue and conservation concern.
First ever Extinction Alert from the IWC: the vaquita porpoise
“Despite nearly thirty years of repeated warnings, the vaquita hovers on the edge of extinction due to gillnet entanglement.” The plight of the vaquita porpoise has led the IWC to issue its first ever Extinction Alert. The vaquita is a small porpoise found only in the Gulf of California, Mexico. There are about 10 surviving animals and the IWC is speaking out now because it believes extinction is not yet inevitable.
Bycatch mitigation for the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise: What to do if pingers are not an option?
Pingers are a potential solution that can help protect the endangered harbour porpoise from being accidentally caught in static fishing nets (bycatch). In a new report, Seas At Risk member BUND, Whale & Dolphin Conservation and Deutsche Umwelthlife explore alternative measures to keep the porpoise safe from bycatch when pingers are not an option. Read the report in English or in German. Posted on: 22 May 2023
Some Hits, Some Misses for Indian Ocean Tuna Resources at IOTC Annual Meeting
The recent Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) meeting marked a return to a collaborative spirit amongst members of the Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO). ISSF welcomes this renewed cooperation and consultation between members because it is essential for the effective functioning of tuna RFMOs. It must now remain the norm for IOTC. However, the Commission once again did not address some priority topics.
Calls for Indian Ocean Yellowfin Tuna Catches to be Cut
Calls for Indian Ocean yellowfin tuna catches to be cut. The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has issued a position statement for the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) 27th Annual Meeting currently underway on May 8-12, 2023.
IWC | International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission - IWC The IWC was established in 1946 as the global body responsible for management of whaling and conservation of whales. Today the IWC has 88 member countries. The mandate has not changed but many new conservation concerns exist and the IWC work programme now also includes bycatch & entanglement, ship strikes, ocean noise, pollution and debris, and sustainable whale watching.
A systematic review of sensory deterrents for bycatch mitigation of marine megafauna - Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries
From the literature search 116 studies were included in the systematic map database and narrative synthesis. Additionally, 25 review articles were included in the narrative synthesis (Online Resource 4). The 116 included studies resulted in 388 entry rows (trials) on the data extraction form, of which 312 were results taken from the field that were eligible for use in the Venn diagrams, corresponding to 90 unique papers.
IWC Plenary: Day One
The first IWC plenary session in four years began with a welcome from the Slovenian Minister of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Uroš Brežan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Žbogar and the Major of Piran, Denio Zadković . The Government of Slovenia is generously hosting the Commission meeting for the third time.
Gaps in our knowledge: where and how are seabirds killed by fisheries?
Caroline Pott and David Wiedenfeld (American Bird Conservancy, The Plains, Virginia, USA) have reviewed information gaps in seabird bycatch in the journal Biological Conservation. The paper’s abstract follows: “Seabirds, as foragers in marine waters for at least part of their lifecycle, encounter the global fishing fleet in search of marine resources. While fishing gear is designed to catch fish and invertebrates, it also catches unintended species, including seabirds.
Bycatch of a Critically Endangered Shark Glyphis glyphis in a Crab Pot Fishery: Implications for Management
Introduction Bycatch is the unintentional capture of non-target species during fishing as a result of low selectivity in fishing gear. It is a significant challenge to fishers and fishery managers around the globe (Suuronen et al., 2012) with approximately 10.8% of global fisheries catch classified as bycatch and the majority discarded back into the ocean (Perez Roda et al., 2019).
A comparison of catch efficiency and bycatch reduction of tuna pole-and-line fisheries using Japan tuna hook (JT-hook) and circle-shaped hook (C-hook)
RESEARCH ARTICLE Previous Next Online Early Khanh Q. Nguyen A B * , Binh V. Nguyen A C , Huyen T. Phan A , Luong T. Nguyen A , Phuong V. To A and Hao V. Tran A + Author Affiliations - Author Affiliations A Nha Trang University, 2 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. B Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St John’s, NL, A1C 5X1, Canada. C Vietnam Tuna Association, 9 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.
Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis
40 Standards I.U.C.N. Petitions Subcommittee Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels
The WAD logo for 2021 is available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish; designed by Geoffry Tyler Following on from last year’s World Albatross Day theme of “Eradicating Island Pests”, ACAP’s chosen theme for 2021 is “Ensuring Albatross-friendly Fisheries”.
“Procellariiformes are good candidates for translocation actions”
Albatross translocation site in Hawaii with shaded chicks and adult decoys, photograph from Pacific Rim Conservation Carmen Antaky (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ornithology on a review of seabird site fidelity and dispersal, informing whether translocated chicks are likely to return to their translocation sites.
Completing a World Heritage Site: New Zealand’s Antipodes Island gets its own World Albatross Banner despite COVID-19
Kath Walker (left) and Graeme Elliott with their World Albatross Day banner behind an adult non-breeding male Antipodean Albatross - who walked into the frame Five sub-Antarctic island groups south of New Zealand form a single World Heritage Site, proclaimed in 1998. With a recent expedition to Antipodes Island they are now linked by having a World Albatross Day banner displayed on all five of them this austral summer.
Evaluating the effectiveness of a large multi‐use MPA in protecting Key Biodiversity Areas for marine predators
Abstract Aim Marine protected areas can serve to regulate harvesting and conserve biodiversity. Within large multi‐use MPAs, it is often unclear to what degree critical sites of biodiversity are afforded protection against commercial activities. Addressing this issue is a prerequisite if we are to appropriately assess sites against conservation targets.
BirdLife International’s Chief Executive, Patricia Zurita supports World Albatross Day on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Patricia Zurita, Chief Executive, BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of 121 conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. As the world’s largest nature conservation partnership, BirdLife has more than 10 million members and supporters, with a global staff of nearly 8000, supported by 5000 volunteers.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds joins other BirdLife national partners in supporting World Albatross Day 2020
ACAP Latest News has been using its contacts to reach out to BirdLife International partners in ACAP Parties to request support for this year’s inauguration of World Albatross Day (‘WAD2020’) on 19 June. Four national partners have so far responded positively (those of Australia, France, New Zealand and South Africa), to which can now be added the United Kingdom.
The Laysan Albatrosses of Midway Atoll: creating displays and artworks from plastic pollution
Eight years ago I posted an article to ACAP Latest News that commenced: “In 2000 I visited Midway Atoll in the North Pacific on an excursion after the Second International Conference on the Biology and Conservation of Albatrosses and other Petrels that had been held in Honolulu, Hawaii in May that year.
Tuna Industry Brings In $155m, Employs 3800
"This was revealed by Kesaia Tabunakawai, the WWF Pacific Representative at the launch of the Fiji Maritime Academy’s Bycatch Training Manual last week." by kelera sovasiga, suva Local fishing vessel Seaka The annual value of catch by Fiji’s tuna fishing fleet is worth approximately US$73m ($F155,855,000) and the sector is estimated to employ approximately 3800 people.
Short-tailed Shearwaters killed by Japanese and Russian drift netting in the Pacific
Yuri Artukhin (Far East Branch, Pacific Geographical Institute, Vladivostok, Russia) and colleagues have published in Russian on mortality of Short-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna tenuirostris (Least Concern) and other marine life in Japanese and Russian driftnet fisheries. It appears the book was originally published in 2010 but has been made available online this month with an English abstract.
Tracking Sooty Albatrosses at sea from Gough, Tristan and Marion Islands
Stefan Schoombie (FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa) and colleagues have published in the journal Emu - Austral Ornithology on tracking Endangered Sooty Albatrosses Phoebetria fusca at sea.
International Affairs
International Affairs Our international affairs work focuses on conservation and management of international fisheries—ensuring safe, sustainable, and legal fishing, trade, and seafood. U.S. fisheries are a global model of success. We are leading the way in science-based management and in the use of innovative strategies to achieve and maintain sustainable fisheries and to preserve and rebuild protected species, including marine mammals and sea turtles.
Scientific Reports
ISSF 2023-12: Status of the World Fisheries for Tuna.
Tuna Conservation: ISSF Model in Action
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Entanglement in fishing gear
The full extent is hard to assess as most entanglements are never observed, but research suggests that over 300,000 whales and dolphins die annually due to entanglement in fishing gear, with additional unknown numbers also entangled in marine debris. This can have a devastating, long-term conservation impact on those populations that are already threatened, in some cases critically. Entanglement is also a serious welfare issue.
Commercial Whaling
The IWC is responsible for setting catch limits for commercial whaling (with the exceptions of Norway and Iceland, see below). The Commission receives advice on sustainability from its Scientific Committee before deciding catch limits, which are then set out in a document called the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
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