WHAT’S IN THE NET? Using camera technology to monitor, and support mitigation of, wildlife bycatch in fisheries This report was funded through a partnership between WWF and Sky Ocean Rescue Contents Report delivered by Seascope Fisheries Research 19 Cromwell Road EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................... 6 York, UK, YO11 2DR RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................10 BACKGROUND OF REM IN FISHERIES ........................................12 Recommended Citation REVIEW OF MONITORING APPROACHES - Course, G.P., Pierre, J., and Howell, TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS ...................................................15 B.K., 2020. What’s in the Net? Using camera technology to monitor, and OVERVIEW OF CURRENT WORLDWIDE support mitigation of, wildlife bycatch REM PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS .......................................28 in fisheries. Published by WWF. STAKEHOLDERS ..............................................................38 Acknowledgments CASE STUDY EXAMPLES .....................................................44 The authors would like to thank all the suppliers of REM equipment that BEST PRACTICE REM FOR ETP MANAGEMENT ............................68 kindly provided details and costs of their systems. We would especially like CONCLUSION ..................................................................76 to thank Howard McElderry and Jason Bryan of Archipelago Marine Research RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................82 for supplying images and advice; Brian Cowan of Anchorlab for allowing us to REFERENCES ..................................................................84 use his diagram and providing details of their system; and Javier de la Cal of ANNEXES ......................................................................93 Satlink for advice on the deployment of the SeaTube system on pelagic vessels and Gonzalo Legorburu Marcos of Digital Observers for details on the Ghanaian REM programme. A special thank you to Lotte Kindt-Larsen of DTU for her assistance in obtaining images from the Danish REM fleet and her review of the Danish case study and Claire van der Geest of AFMA for providing details and review of the Australian case studies. Information on machine learning from G. Tuck, R. Little, S. Fitzgerald and B. Moore is Publishing office also much appreciated. WWF UK The Living Planet Centre Brewery Road Woking Surrey GU21 4LL Design by Heedi Design WWF, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland. Tel. +41 22 364 9111 CH-550.0.128.920-7 WWF® and World Wide Fund for Nature® trademarks and ©1986 Panda Symbol are owned by WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund). All rights reserved. For contact details and further information, please visit our international website at www.panda.org Cover photography: © Martin Abel / DOC WWF INTERNATIONAL 2020: WHAT’S IN THE NET? USING CAMERA TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR, AND SUPPORT MITIGATION OF, WILDLIFE BYCATCH IN FISHERIES 3 Foreword by John Tanzer Oceans Practice Lead, WWF International A healthy ocean is essential to all life on our blue planet. But today, the ocean’s health is precarious, which is why WWF is working around the world with partners from community groups to UN agencies, businesses to watchdog groups, to secure ocean recovery. The UN Intergovernmental Report on Biodiversity As well as heavy machinery and overhead highlighted that commercial fishing has been the moving equipment, there is the issue of a biggest cause of marine biodiversity loss in the working on an unpredictable moving platform, last 50 years. As well as the impacts of fishing often in dangerous seas. Crews can be hostile if on target species, fishing vessels often – either there are perceived or real conflicts of interest unintentionally, or on purpose and illegally – catch between observer data and fisher livelihoods. species they are not interested in, or are prohibited If vessels are at sea for long periods, observers from taking and selling. It’s called “bycatch.” may feel isolated and unsupported. Accidents, injury, intimidation, abuse and unexplained These non-target bycatch species can be almost deaths have been reported in some monitoring anything that lives in or near the ocean: fish, programmes around the world. seabirds, marine mammals, turtles, sharks – including many endangered, threatened or REM presents a cost effective and low risk protected species. Sadly, bycatch is the main solution to support the work of human driver of decline and threat of extinction in a observers, and significantly expand independent number of endangered or critically endangered monitoring across fleets where there is no marine species, and staggering statistics estimate monitoring. This report looks at the many that every year fisheries bycatch kills: 720,000 benefits REM with cameras has to offer fisheries seabirds, 300,000 whales and dolphins, 345,000 management, which include cost savings, ability A HEALTHY OCEAN seals and sealions, over 250,000 turtles, and more to scale up and improved accuracy of science than 1.1 million tonnes of sharks and rays. used to manage and mitigate wildlife bycatch. It also highlights staff welfare as a benefit, whereby While these bycatch estimates show the need for REM can improve transparency and safety for urgent action to bring the death toll down, action human observers on vessels and in doing so, is too often hampered by significant scientific reduce the risk of injury, abuse or even fatality IS ESSENTIAL TO uncertainty around the true impact of fishing on witnessed in human observer programmes. our ocean, due to very low levels of independent monitoring. This is why WWF is advocating The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the for greater accountability and transparency critical importance of building sustainable, from fishing fleets and calling on governments, healthy natural systems and resilient supply ALL LIFE ON OUR managers and industry to adopt the most effective, chains, and we feel confident that REM with value-for-money tools for monitoring fishing cameras can contribute to these efforts. REM activities at sea, collecting data and assuring best with cameras and sensors represents a practice and compliance. transparent, cost-effective, proportionate and risk-based approach to improving monitoring of A number of fisheries around the world are fisheries. The comprehensive and verifiable data BLUE PLANET. recognised as being high risk for bycatch and, provided by REM can facilitate the transformation ideally, these should have 100% observer coverage. of fisheries across our oceans by unlocking the However, fishery observers work in some of the multiple benefits that flow from sustainable and harshest and most dangerous work environments transparent fisheries management, while also known. potentially saving lives at sea. WWF INTERNATIONAL 2020: WHAT’S IN THE NET? USING CAMERA TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR, AND SUPPORT MITIGATION OF, WILDLIFE BYCATCH IN FISHERIES 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sustainable fisheries management is vital for the livelihoods and wellbeing of people all around the world, and for the health and survival of marine ecosystems and species. Remote Electronic Monitoring with cameras (REM) of fisheries is a powerful tool to underpin sustainable fisheries management. This report explores how REM can be used to address the particular issue of unintentional killing of Endangered, Threatened and Protected (ETP) species in commercial fishing, which we term “ETP bycatch.” It outlines the benefits of REM for bycatch monitoring and mitigation and provides an overview of where REM has been used in relation to ETP bycatch around the world to date. It provides five case studies and identifies best practice elements of implementation, and applies these to two hypothetical fisheries of different scale and scope. Finally, it offers advice on accelerating the adoption of REM and recommendations for the adoption of REM as a key element of sustainable fisheries management. WWF INTERNATIONAL 2020: WHAT’S IN THE NET? USING CAMERA TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR, AND SUPPORT MITIGATION OF, WILDLIFE BYCATCH IN FISHERIES 7 Best practice elements of REM Accelerating the implementation adoption of REM EXECUTIVE In-depth analysis of case studies of The benefits of REM for monitoring REM implementation in a range of and managing ETP species fisheries fisheries around the world reveals interactions are clear. The essential certain steps and processes that question then becomes – how do we significantly improve the chance of encourage and accelerate the adoption REM project success. of REM across fisheries globally? The SUMMARY report identifies that adoption of REM These include: could be accelerated and incentivised by: • Feasibility / pilot study conducted that tests specific objectives • Developing and enabling incentives The value of REM for ETP bycatch monitoring • REM in place operationally to including market drivers ARTIFICIALLY address clear objectives • Making REM a regulatory INTELLIGENT ETP bycatch is a significant issue globally. Every year, it is estimated that fisheries • Roles, responsibilities, and requirement and imbedding it as a SOFTWARE IS bycatch kills: 720,000 Seabirds, 300,000 whales and dolphins, 345,000 seals and operational requirements, systems mainstream operational monitoring sealions, over 250,000 turtles, 120,000 sea snakes (in one fishery alone), 1,135,000 and processes are documented (in method for ETP interactions DRIVING COST tonnes of sharks and rays,