The Global Bycatch Exchange is pleased to announce the first round of grantees for the Global Fund for Marine Mammal Bycatch Solutions
Grant Recipient: Green Balkans
Project Location: Bulgaria
Project Title: BLACK SEA HARBOUR PORPOISE (Phocoena phocoena relicta) BYCATCH MITIGATION IN THE BULGARIAN WATERS OF THE BLACK SEA
Grant Award: $24,000
Summary of Project: Black Sea harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena spp. relicta) is a critically endangered population (IUCN Red List) restricted to the Black Sea and adjacent Seas of Azov and Marmara with single records from the Aegean Sea. Green Balkans will use this grant award to test pingers on gillnet fishing vessels with observers to evaluate their potential to reduce its bycatch.
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Grant Recipient: Ghana Wildlife Society
Project Partners: The Conservation and Research on West African Aquatic Mammals-Ghana (COREWAM-GHANA)
Project Location: Ghana
Project Title: ASSESSING AND ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL BASELINE ON MARINE MAMMAL BYCATCH IN GHANA
Grant Award: $36,200
Summary of Project: Marine mammals caught incidentally while fishing are sold and consumed as bushmeat in West Africa, with Ghana considered the highest contributor in terms of species caught and landed. Ghana Wildlife Society will use this award to establish baseline information on marine mammal bycatch including species composition, fishing methods and interactions, and the socio-economic importance of the practice through interviews with fishing crew and community leaders.
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Grant Recipient: WWF-India
Project Location: India
Project Title: Mapping cetacean occurrence and bycatch in Indian waters: Bridging knowledge gaps through fisher community networks
Grant Award: $31,434
Summary of Project: Although bycatch in fisheries is a known cause of significant cetacean mortality globally, little is known about this issue in Indian waters. WWF-India plans to use this award to produce baseline information on national marine mammal bycatch using traditional fishing knowledge from coastal communities and a new app to facilitate self-reporting. These communities will be able to form networks for sharing information with each other, which can facilitate the expansion of bycatch mitigation solutions along the coast.
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Featured Bycatch Species
Although it is believed that the harbor porpoise population is not seriously in danger at present, incidental catch of the species in gillnets continues to be the primary threat throughout it