December 9, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:
In September 2014, NOAA Fisheries awarded 22 grants totaling more than $2.4 million as part of its Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. Bycatch of various species—whether fish, marine mammals, or turtles—can have significant biological, economic, and social impacts. Preventing and reducing bycatch is a shared goal of fisheries managers, the fishing industry, and the environmental community.
Researchers awarded funding in 2013 are conducting research that has:
– Developed timed-released chemical shark repellant that could reduce shark bycatch by 18-35 percent depending on the type and intensity of repellent used.
– Reduced Chinook salmon bycatch in the Pacific hake fishery by using illumination to attract the salmon toward escape areas in midwater trawl nets.
– Field-tested alternative deep-set buoy gear configurations that have been designed to selectively target swordfish at 250-350 meters during the day. Initial trials have confirmed that swordfish can be selectively targeted at depth, non-target catch (e.g., sharks) rates appear to be relatively low, and the gear has had no interactions with any endangered leatherback turtles.
– Reduced widow rockfish bycatch by 26 percent by using a sorting grate that allows the smaller, target fish (Pacific hake) to pass through.
Read more about program accomplishments in the annual report to Congress.
Read the full release from NOAA