1. Cover Page – Characterization of the Catch by Swordfish Buoy Gear in Southeast Florida NOAA Cooperative Research Program Grant Number: NA07NMF4540075 Award Period: 8/1/2007 to 8/31/2009 (reflecting “no-cost” extension granted 7/31/2008) David Kerstetter, Ph.D.* (Project Principal Investigator) and Shannon Bayse Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center 8000 North Ocean Drive Dania Beach, FL 33004 *Corresponding Author:
[email protected] December 2009 2. Abstract – This project had the goal of characterizing the target catch and bycatch species and disposition within the directed swordfish fishery in southeast Florida that utilizes the so- called “swordfish buoy gear” (SBG). All fieldwork was completed by the end of August 2009 as expected with the “no-cost” extension granted in 2008. The preliminary analyses of the collected data indicate that catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) for catch and bycatch is much higher for SBG than pelagic longline gear. The fishery encounters very little bycatch, and those animals that are captured by the gear are almost always alive at gear retrieval and subsequent release. This project did not encounter any marine mammals, sea turtles, or sea birds. The descriptions of the behavior of the fishing gear itself, such as effective fishing depths and relationships of effective fishing depths with gear configuration indicate that the gear fishes somewhat shallower than simple additions of the lengths of the gear sections would indicate. The various iterations of the field datasheet that captures all of the fishing activities (deployment, “tending”, and retrieval) and gear characteristics has also been provided as an Appendix to this final report.