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Win-Win Bycatch Solutions
A Handbook for Collaboration
gRCULATlwt'COPY
Produced by the National Fisheries Conservation Center
Srad Warren, Editor Forthe production of this handbook and thc associated conference, theDavid and LucilePackard Foundation andthe National Fish and Wildlife Foundation provided generousgrants. National Fisherman hhqpuinc and its ai%hasc, Diversified Expositions, providedseed-funding, office space, logistical support, and other in-kind assistance. The NorthwestRegion ofthc National Marine Fisheries Service provided additional support. Thiswort was funded inpart by a grantftotn the Washington SeaGrunt Program, Univer- sityof Washington, pursuant toNational Oceanographic andAtmospheric Administration AwardNo. NA36RG007l, Project No. M-2. The views expressed herein are those of the authorsand do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its sub-agencies.
Editor: Brad Warren ManstgingEditor: Judith Yarrow Associate Editor: Gerald Hadden Assistants:Cha Pope, JiH Danielson Connor, Mary Dempsey ContributingWriters: Yvonne DeReynier, JoelGay, John Grissirn, Krys Holmes, KenKelley, Dave Krapf, Mick Kronman, Mary Sue Lonnevik, Susan Pollack, CharlesSummers, Bob Tkacz.
Printer:Gorham Printing, Rochester. WA Production:Pacific Publication Services, South Bend, WA Cover Photo:Brad Matsen
O NationalFisheries Conservation Center aproject of theFisheries Management Foundation!, l 994
National FisheriesConservation Center Journal Publ ications 4055 2lst Avenue West Seattle, WA 98 I 99 06! 283-l l 50, Fax 06! 286-8594 Preface
Thishandbook ismeant as a toolfor problem-solvers. It was prepared tp provid~ guidanceforparticipants ina day-long conference atFISH EXPO Seattle inDecember !994and for other people interested iil the aim suggested bythe title: Win- Win Bycarch Solutions. Theunintentional capture of non-targetorganisms hasbecome a critical issue in wor!d fisheries.Serious questions have been raised about impacts upon many species, including someendangered andprotected marine animals. At thesame time, efforts to address these problemshave often bogged down in blame, rivalry, and inAammatory campaigns to banishfleets sometimes in theface of impressiveimprovements in their bycatch perfor- mance.It hasbecome clear that the parties involved must deal with the issue, and each other,before the damage toecosy stems and fishing comuunities becomes irreparab!e. Ouraim is to provide models, strategies and information tohelp stakeholders inthe fisheriesjoin forces to fashion their own bycatch solutions. The problems we face are complexenough torequire a broadly inclusive approach. Fishing people, conservationists, fisherymanagers, scientists, foundations, andmany others have a placeatthe table, The National Fisheries Conservation Center Thishandbook and conference represent the first efforts of the National Fisheries ConservationCenter, a project ofthe Fisheries Management Foundation. Thiswork grew froindiscussions with the owner and editors of National Fisherman, who sought a way to advancesubstantive problem-salving onbycatch issues. Tohelp establish theCenter, they generouslyprovided seed-funding, officespace, and most importantly aforum inthe magazineandatFISH EXPO that has enabled usto dig hard into one ofthe most sensitive anddifficult topics now facing theworld's fisheries. A series ofattic!es inthe magazine during1994 laid the intellectua! groundwork forthis project. Withthe formation ofthe Center, werecruited a board ofadvisors, allrespected scientists,conservationists andfishing leaders, fromthroughout NorthAmerica, The FisheriesManagement Foundation generously donated itsservices asfiscal agent. AboutInpreparing this handbookthishandbook wehave had the opportunity tota!k with and h«e" toal thesides andinterests inthe camp!ex hycatch field.Our files now fill cubic yards ofoffice space.Butwe won't pretend thisisa comprehensiveoverview,We'vehad toleave a lot outWe' ve also focused more heavily onthe West than on the East and Gulf coasts. Nonetheless,wehave included articleson bycatch issuesaround thecountry, fromharbor porpoisesinNew England todolphins inthe Pacific, groundfish inAlaska, and tuit!« in theGulf of Mexico. 'IItebycatches aredifferent, theunderlying issuesare siinilar. The successfulsolutions andthere aresome have almost always resulted froinpeopl~ workingtogether ina win-winframework, Inour survey ofbycatch issues, wefound animpressive arrayofefforts tode» e solutionsandtobuild stronger tietworks forcooperative problein-solving. Onennped'i' " tothis process, however, wasclearly thelack ofaccess tointerested peopleinotherot!i«« fields andregions, Wed ided toinclude inthis handbook a directory tohe!p p ople geiiii touch with each other. Theauthors ofthis haiidbook arejournalists, analysts, aiidcoiisultanis lv!»o«ot Us A HAN08OOKFoi'Coi~ao~ r«' havebeen jnferested jnmarine conservation, fisheriespolicy and fisheries technology for manyyears Ourvpjces andour viewpoints, arediverse. Several ofthe authors havebeen affdjatedwithprganizations mentionedinthis book, Ina fieldassmall asthis, theprice of know]edgejsjnvolvernen Wewe]come ,different viewpoints andwould be glad tohear of approacheswehave not covered. ThanksThanksaredue to scores ofpeople fortheir help in bringing thishandbook intp existence.Amongthem, wewant toexpress special gratitude toour advisory board listed below!andto Martin Hall, Brad Matsen, andThane Tienson. TheNorthwest PolicyCenter atthe University ofWashington provided early help to launch hisproject, Wewant to acknowledgethekind assistance ofGuy Thornburgh atthe Fisheries Management Founda- tion,which hasembraced theNational Fisheries Conservation Centerasa projectand provideda fiscal home. Thestaff ofthe Environmental Grantmakers Association andthe ConsultativeGroupon Biological Diversity provided earlyguidance; CraigSmith of CorporateCitizen offered a valuabe conceptual framework forproblem-solving, NFCCadvtsory board; Dr. Dayton L.Alverson andMark Freeberg, Natural Re- sourcesConsultants; DavidHarrington andDuncan Amos, Georgia Sea Grant; Dr. Brock Bernstein,EcoAnalysis; Capt.R.Barry Fisher, Yankee Fisheries; JimFullilove, National Fisherman;KenHinman, National Coalition forMarine Conservation; Suzanne Iudicello, Centerfor Marine Conservation; Dr.James Joseph, inter-American Tropical Tuna Com- mission;Dr.Jon Lien, Whale Research Group, Memorial Umversity ofNewfoundland; MarySue Lonnevik, Universal Plans; Mark Lundsten, Queen Anne Fisheries; Dr.Ellen Pikitch,Fisheries Research Institute, University ofWashington; PaulSeaton, Alaska MarineConservation Council; Tom Suryan, Skippers for Equitable Access. Fenders:We are grateful forthe support ofthe David and Lucile Packard Foundation, lVationalFishenrrari Magazine, theNorthwest Region ofthe National Marine Fisheries Service,The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, andthe Washington SeaGrant Program. Table of Contents
Introduction Win-Itin Sycatch Solutions
North Pacific Three Roads to Sycatch Control %3 The ferment ol the North Pacific
The "Sycatch Zone" Alaska longlinershope for a way out
Bycatch Guidance Practicalbook written for Alaskalongline fishermen
Proof,Allocation Hurdles for BycatchInnovators 21 Threegear-based approaches in Alaska
Rock Sole Fishery 27 One of the dirtiest, but slowlycleaning up Rock Sole Resources
Ilaming Names NMFSlists bycatchrate, boat by boat
West Coast 33 Mass Marking identificationcan help separate hatchery, wild stock 38 Mass Marking Resources
40 Learning From Other Fleets Hopingtoavoid trouble, Oregon's shrimp fishery takes preventivemeasures on bycatch Oregon Shrimp Resources
Dolphin Protection A skipper'sextraordinary inventions ~ +4408ooKFOR Cori ABoRRTfQA Gulf/SouthAtlantic From TEDI to SR4+ Qu andf gputh Atlantic shrimp fishermen shift bycatch focus
NewEngland A Promlilni Collaboration Agencies,fishermen, and s6entists team up to test devicefor warning porpoises away from gillnets
New meglandOroursdlah Oiacarda 80 A farnilr'arproblem goes cnNcal as stocksdw'ndfe
Natchlny the Pot industryefforts keep New' England lobster populationhealthy
A Sycatch Success Story Nomfmoregrate cuts /VewEngland shnmpers'bycatch
FundingSources Funding Fiaherlea Sycatch Initiatives
ResourceDirectory North Pacific
Northwest 83
California 8$
Oulf /Solath Atlantic
Northeast f01
Fishing Gear IIanufacterera
Oloa Nary Win-Win Bycatch Solutions An Introduction A decadeago, bycatch was a wordknown to hardly anyone but fishermen.Some considered it merely extra fish. For others, who encountereddifferent forms of bycatch, it wasa nuisance:waste and extrawork especially toavoid protected species. They did what they couldand kept fishing. Thosedays are gone. Bycatch has swelled from obscurity toout- rage.Since the late 1980s, impressions ofwanton carnage atsea have triggereda series ofpowerful reactions: a United Nations ban on large high-seasdriftnets, voter initiatives that vanquished a variety offishing iietsfrom inshore waters in several states with more likely to follow!, Sy Srad Warren consumerboycotts and federal laws intended tohalt dolphin kills in the easternPacific tuna fishery, and other dramatic steps. Some groups are pressingCongress toimpose sweeping controls onbycatch and waste in majorU.S. fisheries. Reducingbycatch and waste has become a celebrated cause in marineconservation and a dominant issue in fisheries around the world, Researchandpolicy initiatives onthe topic have pmliferated asfisheries agencies,institutes, andfishermen seekways todeal with hycatch and itsnewfound retinue of politiralconsequences. Thisis not merely a reactiontooutside pressure. Fortheir own reasons,many within the often-insular fisheries community arekeenly concernedabout what fishing fleets catch, and often kilL, "by mistake." Theterms bycatch andwaste have many definitions, Butno matter how theyare understood, theseproblems tapinto powerful aspirations and agendasamong people whocatch, process, studyand manage fish stocks.Many in the fleets see their livelihoods atstake. Thenew urgency overbycatch andwaste isnot mysterious, Itarises fromthe same trend that uuderlies mostenvironmental strifetoday: Theseproblems tap into rapidgrowth inhuman population andtechnological powers.We now powerfulaspirations and havethe appetite andthe tools toempty theocean's larders ofmany agendasamong people who speciesfasterthan they replenish themselves. Thatgenerates pubic catch,process, study and anxietyandsharpens competition forresources puttinga premium on managefish stocks.Many in whatfleets inadvertently catch. the fleets see their liveli- hoods at stake. Aa importantI992fishmg Leaders atey fromthroughout tileUnited States ga&eMd fora seminaLconference, theNational Industry Bycatch Workshop in ewport,Oregon. Theworkshop wascontroversial evenbefore it started,andnot only because ofits topic. Conservati«groups wer invitedbecause theorganizers wanted anunguarded discuss' "- fishinggroups complained thatthe workshop included tooma" y ir' ers.And afterward, momentum appearedto flag when a series of follow-upsessions andinitiatives driedup because promised «dfederal fundingnever appeared. Nonetheless,theevent marked a watershed inthe hisro 'siorv of hycatch /NTRODUCTION ~~nt lt wasthe first nationwide effort by U S.fishermen io ~~mntthe problem seeksubstantive solution~fore it put morefleets out of business Fof too long fishermen had been ducking, onlyocciLnonally taking part in local efforts toimprove bycatch- ioduclngmethods; most just hoped the storm woiild pass, InNewport, industryleaders agreed this would no longer work. Capt. R. Barry Fisher,a leaderamong trawlers in theNorth Pacific, offered a challeng- ingcredo: "Know the truth and tell it," Thatwould plainly requite research, Atthe time, anyone seeking to tacklebycatch problems could find only piecemeal studies and anec- dotes.A welterof questionsremained unanswered. How serious are the world'sand the nation's bycatch problems? Which ones are most acute? Aresome types of fishinggear really "cleaner" than others? Have some cottntries, states, or fishingfleets developed solutions that can be emulated?What are the tools,institutions, and resources available to addressbycatch problems? TheNewport workshop called for a worldwidestudy that would forma basisfor action.With fundingfrom government and industry Even finn statements about organizations,four independent fisheries scientists from the United popuiationsize, catch, and Statesand England were commissioned to do the work. The result, now the effects of fishing on non- complete,is a soberingand comprehensive book, A G oba Assessment target species are, when of Bycatchand Discards FAO, 1994!,by DaytonL, Alverson,Mark unpacked, usually about as H. Freeberg,Steven A. Murawski,and J,G. Pope, Two of the authors, trustworthy as a bedtime Alversonand Freeberg, were subsequently recruited to theadvisory story. boardof theNational Fisheries Conservation Center, which produced thishandbook, so was Barry Fisher!. Unoarteiety «nd hilh atahea Oneof themost powerf'ul lessons to emerge from that study con- cernsthe tentative, even illusory, character of our"knowledge" about bycatch,discards, and population impacts, It's nosmall feat getting hard datafrom an ocean whose creatures don't raise their hands when you callattendance. Despite citing hundreds ofearlier studies and records, theauthors warn against letting statistics give the illusion of certainty; in fact,some of the data they cited have since been seriously challenged, Evenfinn statements about population size, catch, and the effects of fishingon non-target species are, when unpacked, usually about as trustworthyas a bedtimestory, Butwhat else do we have? The intuition of experiencedfishing peopleand a soupof imperfectstatistics are our besttools for under- standingour own effects upon the sea. Rightnow the picture isn't pretty. Since l980, the nuinber of overexploitedmajor fish resources hastripled; world fish harvests have increasedroughly S0% and appear tohave peaked despite continued hardfishing!. ln l 990,an estimated 27million metric tons, about one thirdof world catches, were tossed overboard, according iothe FAD study;the study's authors note thar this may be an underestimate. Thestudy describes a global problem that is simple only in its broad outhnes.Theworld has overbuilt itsfishing fleets. That excess has produceda Gordian tangle ofbycatch, waste, strained fish stocks, and hardshipamong people who depend onthis resource. With so much competition forresources, it'sno surprise that yciuc»sjealously watched- There is less room for "inistakes" than 2 Wiw-Ww ~rcn Seasons therewas in the days when sail power and oars powered our fishing Unlesswe teamto manage fleets. the affectSof fiahanes On a Fishinggroups see their harvests eroded by the inability oftheir broadspectrum of organ- ownor other fleets to catch only what they can use. Conservationists isms,we may be courting andwildlife advocates see an inadvertent hazard to protectedmarine trouble and unpredictable maminals,birds, turtles, and other species. And some scientists and ChainSOf COnSequenoes, fisheryanalysts worry about our tendency tofocus on just one or two bothecological and social. covetedfish or a speciesof "charismatic megafauna." such as dolphins. Unlesswe learn to managethe effects of fisheries on a broadspectrum of organisins,they note, we may be courting trouble and unpredict- ablechains of consequences,both ecological and social. The case for moderatlors Givenwhat is at stake,the impulse to takedrastic action is under- standable.lt is rarely wise. The reasons lie in theunforeseen conse- quences, Animportant model of drasticaction is the U.S. response todolphin mortalitiesin theEastern Tropical Pacific. The wave of indignationthat final}yvanquished theU.S. tuna seine fleet took twenty years to reach full force,but when it carnecrashing down it setoff aftershocksthat are stillreverberating through iuany fisheries. The consequences of U.S, dolphin-protectionpolicies, both for dolphins and for people, have swungwell beyond their intended compass. But they have uot achieved theirintended aims. By the early 1990s those policies had put thousands of peopleout of work,defaulted a major fishery to foreign fleets, exposedthe United States to heavy liabilities under international trade law,and failed in theirexplicit purpose to haltthe practice of catching tunaby wrapping nets around the dolphins they foflow. Theearly years of the fishery may have made this reaction inevi- table,Purse seines were a newand powerful technology in tunafishing, andfishermen in theSan Diego-based fleet were ill-prepared for the
h TAOOv slaughterthatoccurred whenthey switched from hook-and-linegeartothe big nets. For years they had beenfinding prime yellowfin tunaby se tingtheir gearear wherew ere they saw dolphins- capi alizingonthe tuna'shabit of swimming withthe mammals, possi blytoward shared prey. Thenets made a messofthis practice. During the 1960s,the death toll reached devastating proportions: it isestimated thatU.S, tuna seiners killed several hundredthousand dolphins annually in the Eastern TropicalPacific. The fleet gradually whittled down mortalitiesasskippers and crews learned to handle thenets better and invented techniques torelease dolphinsalive But progress was slow and, even before he public learned of the problem, some tuna skipperswere frankly worried about their unfortunate fish-finder.. In thelate 1960s they sought help from federal fisheriesbiologists. The first scientific assessment of th»problem blew up in their faces, however. Public indignationspurred Congress toenact the Marine MammalProtection Act in 1972,and the emerging environmentalmovement made hay In thetuna industry,activists had found an enemy worthy of a crusade:a Ace that seemed, to many,to embodylife- destroyinggreed, It madelittle difference that tuna skippers.under continued pressure, learned to spare dolphinsmore effec ivelyand eventually ratche edmor alitiesdown to An IATTC aelentla cheeks tuna a frac ionofpast levels. By the spring of l994a concertedcampaign by
What to do The recommendationsthat follow representa view thatsome readerswill recognize:a first stab at severalof these ideasappeared in lilari onal Fishermanmagazine. Yearsof associationwith this magazine,in its muliiplerole as chronicler, critic, and champioriof commercial fisheries,have inlorm'J ourwork. Years of listening hard to fishing people, conservation ists, gear-makers,scientists, managers, andphilanthropists haverevealed a bindingtheme; we share a small ocean, Whether wejust eat fish, or watchthem like a barotneterofocean health, or make a livingby catchingthem, the implication isplain. We must cotne to tertnswith eachother, or wewill nevercome to tertns with the sea. Hereare a fewblueprints to guidethis work: Q Start ttow.The road toward sound, sustainable bycatch solu- Like any community,a fleet tionscan start anywhere, but the longer we wait the less likely we are to is more likely to swallowits makethe journey successfully. own medicinethan any pjll Cl Recognizecommon goals. Fishing people and conservationists shareitnportant aims usually including a thriving future for fisheries thrust at it by bureaucrats, andoceans!, but it's easyto losesight of themwhen the differences rival fishing groups, or con- emerge.Focusing onshared goals, instead of hardeninginto fixed s ervationists. positions,leaves more room to agree on ways to get there. 0 No forcefeeding. To havea prayer,any solution must smell reasonable,both to thosewho are mostdirectly affected fishing people and to conservationists, fisheries managers, and consumers. Otherwisethey' ll spitit out andsend for the lawyers. Q Heed thosewho aim to core thetnselves.Like any community. a fleetis more likely to swallow its own medicine than any pill thrust at it bybureaucrats, rival fishing groups, or conservationists.Theconsent ofthe governed isvaluable: only those who fish can "clean up" fisher- ies.And fishing people know more than anyone else about what goes on betweentheir gear, the rules and incentives imposed by government. and the creaturesthey encounterat sea. 'I3 Abandonblame. Amongfishing people, thosewho hlaiiie liberal!yare usually trying to tar theirrivals and take their fish. Ani