“This technology potentially reduces our Reduction of catch of juvenile species, and I can only laud Environmental Impact the efforts to involve us in activities like this and enable us to appreciate and see for from Tropical Shrimp ourselves its benefits. In return, what I can Trawling, through the offer is our cooperation and do our share to protect and sustain our fish resources.” Introduction of Bycatch

Ms. Marisa Lakindanum, owner- Reduction Technologies operator of six trawlers in the Philippines and Change of Management TED, BRD AND JTED A TED or ‘turtle excluder device’ is any modification to a shrimp trawl designed to reduce the capture of turtles. These devices are sometimes called “trawl efficiency device’ because they can also prevent the capture of other large animals including sharks, stingrays, jellyfish and some large fish.

A BRD is any modification designed principally to exclude fish bycatch from a shrimp trawl. These devices may also exclude other animals and non-living material (debris), but because fish usually dominate the bycatch, most BRD research has attempted to exclude Contact persons: Janne Fogelgren these animals from the trawl. Thomas Moth Poulsen Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Viale delle Terme di Caracalla JTED stands for ‘juvenile and trash excluder 00100 Rome, Italy device’. This device is designed to exclude Phone: (+39) 06 570 52377; (+39) 06 570 55034 Fax: (+39) 06 570 55188 small fish – usually juvenile or trash fish – E-mail: [email protected]; REBYC from the trawl and maintain the catch of [email protected] shrimp and large fish.

OBJECTIVE in each fishery at the end of the project SHRIMP TRAWLING, period. The overall objective of the project is to BYCATCH AND reduce discards of fish captured by shrimp- An additional expected outcome is the trawlers, primarily by introducing improvement in national capacities for the DISCARDS technologies that reduce the catch of sound management of the shrimp-trawler juvenile food-fish and other bycatch. The fisheries and increased cooperation among Shrimp exploitation by tropical trawl participating countries have themselves countries at the regional and global levels. fisheries generates significant amounts of identified the capture of juvenile food-fish All of which would not be achievable non-shrimp bycatch. Bycatch is anything and discards as a non-sustainable practice without the framework provided by this that a fisherman does not mean to catch, and have therefore assigned priority to project. whereas discards is that part of the catch reducing the problem nationally. These that is returned dead to the sea. countries will therefore contribute through PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES research and management in the fields of AND ORGANIZATION In some countries, bycatch has become an marine biology and fishing-gear technology. important source of income and contributes Asia: Indonesia, the Philippines, and the to food supply. In others, bycatch of fish, OUTPUT Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) particularly small-sized, is discarded at sea. The ultimate output of the project will be the adoption by the participating countries West Africa: Cameroon, Nigeria The capture of juveniles of valuable food of fishing technologies and practices that Gulf Region: Bahrain1, Iran fish constitutes a threat to the sustainable are environmentally friendly, so that their production of fish from an area. Extensive shrimp-trawling fisheries will be enhanced Latin America and the Caribbean: removal of non-target fish is also a threat to in terms of their environmental Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Mexico, the biodiversity in a fishing area. performance and reduction of biological Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela impacts, and will be more sustainable in the If the introduction of fishing technologies future. The project is funded by the Global Environment and practices that reduce the capture of Facility (GEF), coordinated by the United Nations juveniles is successful in a few selected A direct outcome of the project will be a Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed countries in various regions, it can be reduction in number of juvenile species by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) assumed that such technology and practices caught by shrimp trawlers using bycatch of the United Nations. would be adopted by other shrimp fishing reduction devices (BRDs) compared to More information at: countries also experiencing problems with trawlers not using such devices. This can be http://www.fao.org/fi/gefshrimp.htm bycatch. In addition to the expected verified when a successful BRD has been increased fish production and conservation developed and introduced in a shrimp- of biodiversity as a result of project fishery and a comparison made between a intervention, shrimp trawling will earn an trawl equipped with BRD and one without. improved reputation and so continue to Another indicator of project success will be 1 produce needed export income for several Since Bahrain is not GEF-eligible, financial support is obtained the number of shrimp trawlers using BRDs from other sources. poor developing countries.