December 9, 2021 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has voted to recommend a replacement strategy to mitigate seabird interactions by Hawaii deep-set longline fishing vessels.
In a 12-0 vote, with one abstention, the 13-member council voted today to recommend fishing vessels use fishing pole-like setups called tori lines, which are meant to keep seabirds from interacting with the vessels’ gear and bait.
Interactions between fishing vessels in the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery and black-footed and Laysan albatrosses have been on the rise since 2015. Recent studies by researchers have shown that the current mitigation measures — primarily the use of blue-dyed bait and the strategic disposal of fish parts, or offal — have shown mixed effectiveness at deterring the albatrosses.