Technical Mitigation to Reduce Marine Mammal Bycatch and Entanglement in Commercial fishing Gear: Lessons Learnt and Future Directions
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An Evaluation of Cetacean Bycatch in UK Fisheries: Problems and Solutions
AN EVALUATION OF CETACEAN BYCATCH IN UK FISHERIES: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS A report to WDC and HSI Russell Leaper | February 2021 1 SUMMARY Cetacean bycatch has been a serious and persistent welfare and conservation issue in UK waters for many years. The most recent estimates indicate that over 1000 cetaceans are killed each year in UK fisheries. The species most affected are harbour porpoise, common dolphin, minke and humpback whale, but all cetaceans in UK waters are vulnerable. The level of suffering for mammals that become entangled in fishing gear has been described as ‘one of the grossest abuses of wild animal sensibility in the modern world’. Although potential solutions exist, the mitigation efforts to date have only achieved small reductions in the numbers of animals that are killed. The Fisheries Act 2020 commits the UK to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch of sensitive species. The Act does not include details of how to achieve this, but requires reconsideration of fisheries management and practices, the phasing out of some gears, and a change of approach from strategies previously pursued. While gill nets are recognised as the highest risk gear category globally for cetacean bycatch, there are also serious bycatch problems associated with trawl fisheries and with creel fisheries using pots and traps. The different characteristics of these gear types and the types and size of vessels involved, require different approaches to bycatch monitoring and mitigation. Acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs), such as ‘pingers’, have been shown to be effective at reducing harbour porpoise bycatch in gill nets, but the reduction achieved so far has been small, they may cause unwanted disturbance or displacement, and they may not be effective for other species. -
Hauling up Solutions
HAULING UP SOLUTIONS REDUCING CETACEAN BYCATCH IN UK FISHERIES WORKSHOP REPORT HAULING UP SOLUTIONS REPORT 1 CONTENTS CONTENTS 1 SECTION ONE: SUMMARY 2 SECTION TWO: BACKGROUND 6 SECTION THREE: INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUE 10 SECTION FOUR: MONITORING 14 SECTION FIVE: MITIGATION 17 SECTION SIX: RECOMMENDATIONS 26 SECTION SEVEN: NEXT STEPS 28 SECTION EIGHT: STAY IN TOUCH & GLOSSARY 30 ANNEX: REFERENCES, WORKSHOP PRESENTERS REPORT CITATION Tindall, C., Hetherington, S., Bell, C., Deaville, R., Barker, J., Borrow, K., Oakley, M., Bendall, V., Engelhard, G. (Eds) (2019) Hauling Up Solutions: Reducing Cetacean Bycatch in UK Fisheries. Final Workshop Report. 31 pp. www.cefas.co.uk/cetacean-by-catch-workshop. CHATHAM HOUSE RULE This report gives a summary of a participatory workshop on cetacean bycatch held at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) on 12-13 March 2019 held under the Chatham House Rule. As a result, no comments are affiliated to any individual or organisation apart from direct quotes, for which permission was sought. i HAULING UP SOLUTIONS REPORT SECTION ONE SUMMARY Accidental capture in fishing gear (bycatch) is one of the greatest threats faced globally by cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and has contributed to the decline and extinction of some populations and species1. Cetacean bycatch is problematic as it represents a welfare issue for individuals caught which is of public concern; an economic cost to fishermen owing to the time taken to clear and repair damaged gear, and the subsequent lost catch; an issue of safety for fishermen when clearing nets; as well as a potential conservation concern for some species or populations. -
Cetacean Rapid Assessment: an Approach to Fill Knowledge Gaps and Target Conservation Across Large Data Deficient Areas
Received: 9 January 2017 Revised: 19 June 2017 Accepted: 17 July 2017 DOI: 10.1002/aqc.2833 RESEARCH ARTICLE Cetacean rapid assessment: An approach to fill knowledge gaps and target conservation across large data deficient areas Gill T. Braulik1,2 | Magreth Kasuga1 | Anja Wittich3 | Jeremy J. Kiszka4 | Jamie MacCaulay2 | Doug Gillespie2 | Jonathan Gordon2 | Said Shaib Said5 | Philip S. Hammond2 1 Wildlife Conservation Society Tanzania Program, Tanzania Abstract 2 Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans 1. Many species and populations of marine megafauna are undergoing substantial declines, while Institute, University of St Andrews, St many are also very poorly understood. Even basic information on species presence is unknown Andrews, Fife, UK for tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline, particularly in the developing world, which is a 3 23 Adamson Terrace, Leven, Fife, UK major hurdle to their conservation. 4 Department of Biological Sciences, Florida 2. Rapid ecological assessment is a valuable tool used to identify and prioritize areas for International University, North Miami, FL, USA conservation; however, this approach has never been clearly applied to marine cetaceans. Here 5 Institute of Marine Science, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania a rapid assessment protocol is outlined that will generate broad‐scale, quantitative, baseline Correspondence data on cetacean communities and potential threats, that can be conducted rapidly and cost‐ Gill T. Braulik, Wildlife Conservation Society effectively across whole countries, or regions. Tanzania Program, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Email: [email protected] 3. The rapid assessment was conducted in Tanzania, East Africa, and integrated collection of data on cetaceans from visual, acoustic, and interview surveys with existing information from multiple Funding information sources, to provide low resolution data on cetacean community relative abundance, diversity, and Pew Marine Fellows, Grant/Award Number: threats. -
Why Study Bycatch? an Introduction to the Theme Section on Fisheries Bycatch
Vol. 5: 91–102, 2008 ENDANGERED SPECIES RESEARCH Printed December 2008 doi: 10.3354/esr00175 Endang Species Res Published online December xx, 2008 Contribution to the Theme Section ‘Fisheries bycatch problems and solutions’ OPENPEN ACCESSCCESS Why study bycatch? An introduction to the Theme Section on fisheries bycatch Candan U. Soykan1,*, Jeffrey E. Moore2, Ramunas ¯ 5ydelis2, Larry B. Crowder2, Carl Safina3, Rebecca L. Lewison1 1Biology Department, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, California 92182-4614, USA 2Center for Marine Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort,North Carolina 28516, USA 3Blue Ocean Institute, PO Box 250, East Norwich, New York 11732, USA ABSTRACT: Several high-profile examples of fisheries bycatch involving marine megafauna (e.g. dolphins in tuna purse-seines, albatrosses in pelagic longlines, sea turtles in shrimp trawls) have drawn attention to the unintentional capture of non-target species during fishing operations, and have resulted in a dramatic increase in bycatch research over the past 2 decades. Although a number of successful mitigation measures have been developed, the scope of the bycatch problem far exceeds our current capacity to deal with it. Specifically, we lack a comprehensive understanding of bycatch rates across species, fisheries, and ocean basins, and, with few exceptions, we lack data on demographic responses to bycatch or the in situ effectiveness of existing mitigation measures. As an introduction to this theme section of Endangered Species Research ‘Fisheries bycatch: problems and solutions’, we focus on 5 bycatch-related questions that require research attention, building on exam- ples from the current literature and the contributions to this Theme Section. -
SOLUTION: Gathering and Sonic Blasts for Oil Exploration Because These Practices Can Harm and Kill Whales
ENDANGEREDWHALES © Nolan/Greenpeace WE HAVE A PROBLEM: WHAT YOU CAN DO: • Many whale species still face extinction. • Tell the Bush administration to strongly support whale protection so whaling countries get the • Blue whales, the largest animals ever, may now number as message. few as 400.1 • Ask elected officials to press Iceland, Japan • Rogue nations Japan, Norway and Iceland flout the and Norway to respect the commercial whaling international ban on commercial whaling. moratorium. • Other threats facing whales include global warming, toxic • Demand that the U.S. curb global warming pollution dumping, noise pollution and lethal “bycatch” from fishing. and sign the Stockholm Convention, which bans the most harmful chemicals on the planet. • Tell Congress that you oppose sonar intelligence SOLUTION: gathering and sonic blasts for oil exploration because these practices can harm and kill whales. • Japan, Norway and Iceland must join the rest of the world and respect the moratorium on commercial whaling. • The loophole Japan exploits to carry out whaling for “Tomostpeople,whalingisallnineteenth- “scientific” research should be closed. centurystuff.Theyhavenoideaabout • Fishing operations causing large numbers of whale hugefloatingslaughterhouses,steel-hulled bycatch deaths must be cleaned up or stopped. chaserboatswithsonartostalkwhales, • Concerted international action must be taken to stop andharpoonsfiredfromcannons.” other threats to whales including global warming, noise Bob Hunter, pollution, ship strikes and toxic contamination. -
'Bycatch' Whaling a Growing Threat to Coastal Whales 23 June 2009
'Bycatch' whaling a growing threat to coastal whales 23 June 2009 Scientists are warning that a new form of Whales are occasionally killed in entanglements unregulated whaling has emerged along the with fishing nets and the deaths of large whales are coastlines of Japan and South Korea, where the reported by most member nations of the IWC. commercial sale of whales killed as fisheries Japan and South Korea are the only countries that "bycatch" is threatening coastal stocks of minke allow the commercial sale of products killed as whales and other protected species. "incidental bycatch." The sheer number of whales represented by whale-meat products on the market Scott Baker, associate director of the Marine suggests that both countries have an inordinate Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, says amount of bycatch, Baker said. DNA analysis of whale-meat products sold in Japanese markets suggests that the number of "The sale of bycatch alone supports a lucrative whales actually killed through this "bycatch trade in whale meat at markets in some Korean whaling" may be equal to that killed through coastal cities, where the wholesale price of an adult Japan's scientific whaling program - about 150 minke whale can reach as high as $100,000," annually from each source. Baker said. "Given these financial incentives, you have to wonder how many of these whales are, in Baker, a cetacean expert, and Vimoksalehi fact, killed intentionally." Lukoscheck of the University of California-Irvine presented their findings at the recent scientific In Japan, whale-meat products enter into the meeting of the International Whaling Commission commercial supply chain that supports the (IWC) in Portugal. -
Seafood Watch® Standard for Fisheries
1 Seafood Watch® Standard for Fisheries Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Seafood Watch Guiding Principles ...................................................................................................... 3 Seafood Watch Criteria and Scoring Methodology for Fisheries ........................................................... 5 Criterion 1 – Impacts on the Species Under Assessment ...................................................................... 8 Factor 1.1 Abundance .................................................................................................................... 9 Factor 1.2 Fishing Mortality ......................................................................................................... 19 Criterion 2 – Impacts on Other Capture Species ................................................................................ 22 Factor 2.1 Abundance .................................................................................................................. 26 Factor 2.2 Fishing Mortality ......................................................................................................... 27 Factor 2.3 Modifying Factor: Discards and Bait Use .................................................................... 29 Criterion -
Agenda Item 7.1 Cooperation with Other Bodies Report by The
25th Meeting of the Advisory Committee ASCOBANS/AC25/Inf.7.1a Stralsund, Germany, 17-19 September 2019 Dist.16 August 2019 Agenda Item 7.1 Cooperation with other Bodies Report by the Secretariat, Parties and Partners Information Document 7.1a Report of the IWC Workshop on Bycatch Opportunities in the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea Action Requested Take Note Submitted by International Whaling Commission Note: Delegates are kindly reminded to bring their own document copies to the meeting, if needed. Report of the IWC Workshop on Bycatch Mitigation Opportunities in the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea 8-9th May, 2019, Nairobi, Kenya Participants at the IWC Workshop on Bycatch Mitigation Opportunities in the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea 1 Table of Contents Acronyms and definitions ....................................................................................................................... 5 Executive summary ................................................................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 12 1.1 Introductory items ...................................................................................................................... 12 1.2 Opening remarks ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Introduction to the Bycatch Mitigation -
OCEANA Bycatch Summary V4.Indd
COLLATERAL DAMAGE: HOW TO REDUCE BYCATCH IN CANADA'S COMMERCIAL FISHERIES oceana.ca 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 executi ve summary 04 glossary and acronyms WHAT IS 05 bycatch is a global issue 06 Harmful gear 08 assessing canada’s bycatch problem bycatch? 10 key fi nding: hundreds of species end up as bycatch 13 key fi nding: there are big holes in the data 16 key fi nding: canada’s regulatory approach to reducing bycatch is collateral damage created by fi shing: the non- bycatch is inadequate target fi sh and ocean wildlife that are captured in nets, 17 methods for monitoring bycatch lines and other gear set for other targeted species. it may 18 msc-certi fi ed fi sheries with the most discards be discarded at sea or brought to port. 24 what’s the soluti on? 25 recommendati ons for fisheries and oceans canada globally, this includes the dolphins that are ensnared to 27 conclusions bring you canned tuna, the sea turtles caught to bring you 28 oceana canada: saving the oceans shrimp and the fl ounder thrown overboard to put seared to feed the world scallops on the menu. it also includes targeted fi sh that are too small to harvest and non-target fi sh with litt le commercial value. Quite simply, poorly managed bycatch is one of the biggest threats to the world’s oceans, contributi ng to the dramati c decline of some fi sh populati ons. Collateral Damage: 2 How to reduce bycatch in Canada’s commercial fi sheries EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bycatch is one of the biggest threats to ocean health. -
Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries
© Brian Skerry WASTED CATCH: UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN U.S. FISHERIES Authors: Amanda Keledjian, Gib Brogan, Beth Lowell, Jon Warrenchuk, Ben Enticknap, Geoff Shester, Michael Hirshfield and Dominique Cano-Stocco CORRECTION: This report referenced a bycatch rate of 40% as determined by Davies et al. 2009, however that calculation used a broader definition of bycatch than is standard. According to bycatch as defined in this report and elsewhere, the most recent analyses show a rate of approximately 10% (Zeller et al. 2017; FAO 2018). © Brian Skerry ACCORDING TO SOME ESTIMATES, GLOBAL BYCATCH MAY AMOUNT TO 40 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S CATCH, TOTALING 63 BILLION POUNDS PER YEAR CORRECTION: This report referenced a bycatch rate of 40% as determined by Davies et al. 2009, however that calculation used a broader definition of bycatch than is standard. According to bycatch as defined in this report and elsewhere, the most recent analyses show a rate of approximately 10% (Zeller et al. 2017; FAO 2018). CONTENTS 05 Executive Summary 06 Quick Facts 06 What Is Bycatch? 08 Bycatch Is An Undocumented Problem 10 Bycatch Occurs Every Day In The U.S. 15 Notable Progress, But No Solution 26 Nine Dirty Fisheries 37 National Policies To Minimize Bycatch 39 Recommendations 39 Conclusion 40 Oceana Reducing Bycatch: A Timeline 42 References ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank Jennifer Hueting and In-House Creative for graphic design and the following individuals for their contributions during the development and review of this report: Eric Bilsky, Dustin Cranor, Mike LeVine, Susan Murray, Jackie Savitz, Amelia Vorpahl, Sara Young and Beckie Zisser. -
Small Cetacean Bycatch As Estimated from Stranding Schemes: the Common Dolphin Case in the 2 Northeast Atlantic
1 Small cetacean bycatch as estimated from stranding schemes: the common dolphin case in the 2 northeast Atlantic 3 4 5 PELTIER Hélène1; AUTHIER Matthieu1, DEAVILLE Rob2, DABIN Willy1, JEPSON Paul 6 D.2, VAN CANNEYT Olivier1, DANIEL Pierre3, RIDOUX Vincent1,4 7 8 1 Observatoire PELAGIS, UMS 3462- Université de La Rochelle-CNRS, 5 allées de l’océan, 9 17000 La Rochelle, France 10 2 Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, NW1 4RY London, 11 United Kingdom 12 3 Météo-France, DirOP/MAR, 42 avenue Coriolis, 31057, Toulouse, Cedex, France 13 14 4 Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé-La Rochelle, UMR 7372- Université de La Rochelle- 15 CNRS, 2, rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France 16 17 Contact author: Hélène PELTIER 18 [email protected] 19 Observatoire PELAGIS, Université de La Rochelle, 5 allées de l’océan, 17000 La Rochelle, 20 France 21 +33 5 46 44 99 10 / +33 6 82 74 08 41 22 23 24 Abstract 25 Death in fishing gear of non-target species (called ‘bycatch’) is a major concern for marine 26 wildlife, and mostly worrying for long-lived species like cetaceans, considering their 27 demographic characteristics (slow population growth rates and low fecundity). In European 28 waters, cetaceans are highly impacted by this phenomenon. Under the Common Fishery 29 Policy, the EC 812/2004 regulation constitutes a legal frame for bycatch monitoring on 5 to 30 10% of fishing vessels > 15 m. The aim of this work was to compare parameters and bycatch 31 estimates of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) provided by observer programmes in 32 France and UK national reports and those inferred from stranding data, through two 33 approaches. -
Summary Prepared for the IOTC 15Th
IOTC-2020-WPEB16-INF04 Summary prepared for the IOTC 15th Working Party on Ecosystems and Bycatch - Report of the IWC Workshop on Bycatch Mitigation Opportunities in the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) held a technical workshop on Bycatch Mitigation Opportunities in the Western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea from 8-9 May 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop was attended by 50 participants working in 17 different countries, with half of the participants coming from within the Indian Ocean region. Workshop participants included national government officials working in marine conservation and fisheries management, cetacean and fisheries researchers, fisheries technologists, socio-economists and representatives from Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs), inter- and non-governmental organisations. The focal region of the workshop extended from South Africa, north to the Arabian Sea and east to Sri Lanka, including coastal areas, national waters and high seas. The primary objectives of the workshop were to (i) develop a broad-scale picture of cetacean bycatch across the North and Western Indian Ocean region in both artisanal and commercial fisheries; (ii) explore the challenges and opportunities related to the monitoring and mitigation of cetacean bycatch in the western and northern Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea); (iii) identify key gaps in knowledge and capacity within the region and tools needed address these gaps; (iv) introduce the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI) to Indian Ocean stakeholders and assess how the initiative can be of use; (v) identify potential locations which could serve as BMI pilot projects; (vi) start building collaborations to tackle bycatch at national, regional and international level.