Search The Database
| Location | Gear | Catch | Technique | Bycatch species | Type | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Skjálfandi Bay and Eyjafjörður, Iceland |
None |
Acoustic deterrent devices
|
Large Cetaceans (maximum length > 7.5 meters), Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback whale) | Field study in the wild | The authors conducted field studies off the coast of Iceland to measure the response of humpback whales (Megaptera noveangliae) in their feeding grounds to a whale pinger and seal scarer (acoustic deterrents). Results indicate that whale pingers caused a significant increase in humpback swimming speed and a significant decrease in surface feeding, and that seal scarers caused no significant, consistent behavioral changes. Additionally, the authors conducted a field trial of whale pingers on a capelin purse seine; the pingers did usually deter whales from the purse seine, and the two times that whales entered the net, the pingers combined with crew responsiveness seemed to aid their escape. Whale pingers can be a useful humpback whale entanglement mitigation tool, but they should be used only short-term so as to avoid reduced fitness consequences.
Swimming speed increased, surface feeding decreased |
|
Neskaupstaður, Iceland |
Surrounding nets and seine nets
|
Capelin (Mallotus villosus) |
Acoustic deterrent devices
|
Large Cetaceans (maximum length > 7.5 meters), Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback whale) | Field study in the wild | The authors conducted field studies off the coast of Iceland to measure the response of humpback whales (Megaptera noveangliae) in their feeding grounds to a whale pinger and seal scarer (acoustic deterrents). Results indicate that whale pingers caused a significant increase in humpback swimming speed and a significant decrease in surface feeding, and that seal scarers caused no significant, consistent behavioral changes. Additionally, the authors conducted a field trial of whale pingers on a capelin purse seine; the pingers did usually deter whales from the purse seine, and the two times that whales entered the net, the pingers combined with crew responsiveness seemed to aid their escape. Whale pingers can be a useful humpback whale entanglement mitigation tool, but they should be used only short-term so as to avoid reduced fitness consequences.
Deterred from entering net, or if they enter, the surface pingers seemed to lead them toward escape |
Scotland |
Pots
|
northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) |
Visual deterrents
|
Bony Fishes | Field study in the wild | This study reports on trials investigating the use of white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to improve target catch and reduce nontarget catch in northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) pot fisheries. Illuminated pots led to a significantly higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) of northern shrimp, but levels were still not commercially viable. LEDs also resulted in higher juvenile poor cod (Trisopterus minutus) bycatch and reduced Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) catch. LEDs on nets may be promising for increasing CPUE and an alternative to trawl fisheries for northern shrimp. |
Scotland |
Pots
|
Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) |
Visual deterrents
|
Bony Fishes | Field study in the wild | This study reports on trials investigating the use of white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) to improve target catch and reduce nontarget catch in northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) and Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) pot fisheries. Illuminated pots led to a significantly higher catch per unit effort (CPUE) of northern shrimp, but levels were still not commercially viable. LEDs also resulted in higher juvenile poor cod (Trisopterus minutus) bycatch and reduced Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) catch. LEDs on nets may be promising for increasing CPUE and an alternative to trawl fisheries for northern shrimp. |
Bay of Biscay |
Trawls
|
bony fishes: hake, blue whiting, mackerel |
Acoustic deterrent devices
|
Small Cetaceans (maximum length < 7.5 meters) | Field study in the wild | The authors evaluated the effectiveness of DDD®03H Dolphin Dissuasive Devices, or DDD pingers (an acoustic deterrent device) to reduce common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) bycatch in a demersal pair trawler in the Bay of Biscay. Results showed that the DDD pingers reduced common dolphin bycatch by more than 90%, and that common dolphin bycatch in this trawl fishery is related to fishing zone and depth, but not necessarily factors such as time of day and haul duration.
significantly reduced bycatch of common dolphin, both by frequency and # of individuals per haul |
| Summary study | This summary study assessed data from pelagic longline fisheries and sea turtle bycatch across 40 nations in the year 2000. Analyses showed that ore than 200,000 loggerheads and 50,000 leatherbacks were likely taken as pelagic longline bycatch in 2000, which is not a sustainable level.
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Portugal |
Gillnets and Entangling Nets
|
fish spp. | Seabirds | Field study in the wild | This study utilized onboard observations and fishermen interviews to investigate seabird seasonal abundance and interactions with artisanal bottom-set net fisheries off the southern-eastern coast of mainland Portugal between 2020 and 2022. 25 species of seabirds were recorded as bycatch, with lesser black-backed and Yellow-legged gulls
variation by season and gear type affected seabird species differently |
|
| Summary study | The authors used observer data to investigate variations in threatened species bycatch among individual operators with varying performance levels from five industrial fisheries in Australia. High-target and low-bycatch vessels were found in all five fisheries amongst varying gear types, and individual vessels were significant predictors of interaction rates. The authors suggest that fleet-wide bycatch reduction controls would be complemented through the use of measures that focus on individual performance groups.
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| Summary study | The authors performed multuple analyses to assess northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) bycatch and impacts from the Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) fishery in Arctic Canada. Results show that low to average levels of probable bycatch across fulmar populations will likely severely impede recovery or cause long-term declines of the northern fulmar populations in Arctic Canada, and that cumulative impacts of both southern and northern Canadian fisheries needed to be assessed for a more accurate understanding of the total impact. |
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| Study in the lab | The authors interviewed 779 fishers to assess the bycatch of Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in small-scale surface and bottom gillnet and purse-seine fisheries in Peru and Chile. Results estimated 4,067 penguins were caught as bycatch in 2023 alone, with the highest rates associated with the following: gillnets, location of larger penguin colonies, larger mesh sizes, and certain target species (i.e. corvina drum (Seriolella violacea) and Peruvian grunt (Anisotremus scapularis)). Bycatch was reported in both gear types, but fisher responses as to the state and fate of caught penguins was scant and variable.
Results showed an estimated total of 4067 (±889 s.d.) penguins |