Bridges to best management: Effects of a voluntary bycatch avoidance program in a mid-water trawl fishery |
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| Institution: | 1. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology, 200 Mill Road, Fairhaven, MA 02719, USA;2. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, 30 Emerson Ave., Gloucester, MA 01930, USA;1. Irish Sea Fisheries Board (BIM), New Docks, Galway, Ireland;2. MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland;3. Marine Institute (MI), Oranmore, Galway, Ireland;2. Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA;1. Universidade Federal do Paraná, Centro de Estudos do Mar. Av. Beira Mar s/n, Pontal do Sul. Pontal do Paraná/PR Cep 83.255-976, Brazil;2. University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados;1. Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources, North Sea Science Park, PO Box 101, DK-9850, Hirtshals, Denmark;2. Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, Alter Hafen Süd 2, Rostock, 18069, Germany |
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| Abstract: | The catch of non-target species or discarding of target species (bycatch) in commercial fisheries can result in negative species level and ecosystem wide impacts as well as adverse social and economic effects. Bycatch has become one of the foremost, global issues of fishery managers and conservationists, especially when the non-target species is from a protected or threatened population. However, the impact and spatial distribution of bycatch is frequently unknown making it difficult to develop effective, justifiable mitigation regulations. This challenge is exemplified by the bycatch of river herring (alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, and blueback herring, A. aestivalis) and American shad (A. sapidissima) in the northwest Atlantic mid-water trawl fishery targeting Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). As an alternative to immediate management action, a voluntary bycatch avoidance program was established through an industry, state government, and university partnership. Here the program is described and its impact is evaluated by comparing fleet behavior and bycatch prior to and during the program. The combined results suggest that consistent communication, facilitated by the avoidance program, positively influenced fishing habits and played a role in the approximately 60% decrease in total bycatch and 20% decrease in the bycatch ratio observed during the program. However, the success of small scale move-along strategies to reduce bycatch ratios varied greatly in different areas of the fishery and years. This suggests the program is best viewed as an intermediate or complimentary solution. Overall, this project exemplifies of how collaborative programs can help alleviate difficult management scenarios. |
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| Keywords: | River herring American shad Atlantic herring Atlantic mackerel Collaborative research |
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