Tackle used by fishermen should reduce bycatch and not damage habitat. Require that commercial harvesting gear is evaluated and certified as appropriate in each fishery to reduce the use of gear that is destructive to habitat and non-target marine life and encourage the research and use of new technologies. Factsheet: Marine Bycatch and Damage from Fishing Gear: Key Academic References [PDF]

Background

Certain types of fishing gear cause severe damage to underwater ecosystems and can imperil non-target marine life. Bottom trawling can cause such significant damage to the sea floor that the fish stocks that depend on these habitats cannot recover. Bycatch, the unwanted or unintentional species that are caught in gear, such as long-lines, purse seines, trawls and gillnets, often die before they can be released or from damage caused by the gear.

Existing fishing gear must be better evaluated to gauge its efficiency and the damage it causes to non-target species and habitat. Minimum standards for reducing bycatch and habitat damage must become the top two criteria for gear certification. In addition, regional fishery management councils should develop bycatch reduction plans that address the broad ecosystem impacts of bycatch for areas under their jurisdiction. Finally, new fishing gear technologies that will help reduce environmental impacts should be researched and developed.

Any new marine policy should reduce the use of destructive gear by requiring gear to be evaluated and certified as appropriate in each fishery. It also should encourage the research and use of new, safer technologies.

A Catching Problem

In 2002, the United States had one of the highest discard-to-landing ratios in the world — 3.7 million tons of fish were landed and another 1.06 million tons of fish were discarded. This number is increased largely due to the very high discard-to-landing ratio of shrimp fisheries, at 2.95 for the East Coast of the U.S. and as high as 4.56 for the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fleet.

Total Bycatch by Gear Type for 2002/2003

• shrimp trawls (46.9%)
• bottom trawls (25.1%)
• hook and line (7.2%)
• dredge (5.3%)
• midwater trawl (5.1%)
• pot/trap (4.5%)
• longline (3.9%)
• gillnet (1.2%)
• purse seine (0.7%)

Catching up with Technology

New technology and gear types could make a big difference. From 25 to 64 percent of bycatch could be reduced if global fishing fleets could match somewhere between the minimum and median performance of experimental gear documented in various studies. Legislative changes that mandate the use of new technologies would also have a strong benefit.

Catching more than Fish

Fishing gear doesn't just catch fish — many gear types affect marine mammals, turtles, sea birds and even the habitats necessary to sustain marine life. Many people are familiar with the problems of catching dolphin with tuna nets or turtles with shrimp trawls, but sea birds caught on hooks or whales caught in gill nets are just as prevalent. From 1990 to 1999, the mean yearly bycatch of dolphins, whales, seals and sea lions was 6,215 animals. More than 250,000 sea turtles were estimated to have been taken by the global longline fishery in the year 2000, and hundreds of endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles and threatened loggerheads are taken in shrimp trawl nets. Longline and driftnet fisheries also kill millions of birds such as albatross, shearwaters and petrels.

Beyond the obvious impacts to marine life, many gear types can also dramatically alter marine habitats. In particular, damage to the sea floor from bottom fishing gear has been compared to the clear-cutting of forests — but the area of sea floor damaged yearly by mobile fishing gear is 150 times the land area that is lost to clear-cutting. Bottom trawls crush, bury and expose marine organisms, reducing the structural diversity of the sea bottom. These systems often require long periods of time to reestablish.

The good news is that technology such as Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), acoustic alarms and line weights are making improvements in reducing impacts on marine life. Seasonal adjustments and reducing the number of trawls in an area can help with habitat damage. But research and development of new gear types that can limit the damage — and legislation that can mandate reduction in the use of the most detrimental gear — are essential.

Catch & Release with Circle Hooks — Recreational anglers are applying an old commercial technology to reduce the mortality from catch-and-release fishing. Circle hooks catch fish in the corner of the mouth, limiting gut hooks and making it easier to release undersized fish.