August 17, 2021 — Bycatch gives Alaska’s otherwise stellar fisheries management its biggest black eye.
The term refers to unwanted sea creatures taken in trawls, pots, lines and nets when boats are going after targeted catches. Bycatch is the bane of existence for fishermen, seafood companies and policy makers alike, yet few significant advances have been found to mitigate the problem.
A simple device has recently offered a potential solution.
“Ten underwater LED lights can be configured to light up different parts of the fishing gear with six different colors, intensity and flash rates to attract, repel or guide fish through the gear while retaining the target catches,” said Dan Watson, CEO and co-founder of SafetyNet Technologies based in the U.K., which provides its Pisces light system to fisheries around the globe.