beecee Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 https://phys.org/news/2022-01-nets-bycatch-sharks-wildlife-fishing.html Lighted nets dramatically reduce bycatch of sharks and other wildlife while making fishing more efficient: In a win-win for commercial fisheries and marine wildlife, researchers have found that using lighted nets greatly reduced accidental bycatch of sharks, rays, sea turtles, and unwanted finfish. Publishing their results in the journal Current Biology, the researchers found that lighted gillnets reduced total fisheries bycatch by 63 percent, which included a 95 percent reduction in sharks, skates, and rays, an 81 percent reduction in Humboldt squid, and a 48 percent reduction in unwanted finfish, while maintaining catch rates and market value of target fish. Authors of the study include Jesse Senko, Assistant Research Professor, Arizona State University; Hoyt Peckham, Director of Small-scale Fisheries, Wildlife Conservation Society; Daniel Aguilar-Ramirez, Fisheries Biologist, National Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute of Mexico; and John Wang, Fisheries Ecologist, NOAA Fisheries. Gillnets are one of the most extensively used fishing gear in coastal regions throughout the world's oceans, but often catch other animals not targeted by fishers. These include endangered, threatened, and protected species such as sharks, sea turtles, marine mammals, and seabirds, but also other fish species as well as non-marketable juvenile target fish species. These animals are often dead, injured, and dumped overboard. The incidental capture of non-target species—known as "bycatch"—in coastal gillnet fisheries has contributed to declines in endangered species worldwide and has also impacted coastal ecosystems. Over the past decade, illuminating gillnets with LED lights has emerged as an effective tool to reduce bycatch of endangered sea turtles in coastal gillnet fisheries. However, the effects of net illumination on other vulnerable species, total fisheries bycatch, and efficiency of fishery operations have never been examined. more at link................... the paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)01737-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982221017371%3Fshowall%3Dtrue explore further...................... https://phys.org/news/2019-12-fishing-nets-turtles-dolphins.html Lights on fishing nets save turtles and dolphins: Placing lights on fishing nets reduces the chances of sea turtles and dolphins being caught by accident, new research shows. LED lights along the top of floating gillnets cut accidental "bycatch" of sea turtles by more than 70 percent, and that of small cetaceans (including dolphins and porpoises) by more than 66 percent. The study, by the University of Exeter and Peruvian conservation organisation ProDelphinus, looked at small-scale vessels departing from three Peruvian ports between 2015 and 2018, and found the lights didn't reduce the amount of fish caught from "target species" (ie what the fishers wanted to catch). The findings support previous research which suggested LED lights reduce bycatch of seabirds in gillnets by about 85 percent. more at link............. 1
studiot Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 6 minutes ago, beecee said: In a win-win for commercial fisheries and marine wildlife, researchers have found that using lighted nets greatly reduced accidental bycatch of sharks, rays, sea turtles, and unwanted finfish. Nice one Cyril ! +1
beecee Posted January 23, 2022 Author Posted January 23, 2022 2 minutes ago, studiot said: Nice one Cyril ! +1 It's Barry. 😜
studiot Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 (edited) 3 minutes ago, beecee said: It's Barry. 😜 It's a soccer reference about netting the ball. Edited January 24, 2022 by studiot 1
Recommended Posts