Hi folks,

Here are some notes regarding a study published in Conservation
Biology regarding the Washington Sea Grant study on reducing the
incidental catch of sea birds in Puget Sound gillnet salmon fisheries.
Too bad some of the other 'industries' that kill birds don't take the
same approach to cleaning up their own acts.....

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 23:34:18 EST
From: FISH1IFR at aol.com
To: birdbycatch at pond.net
Subject: Good study on reducing bird bycatch in gillnets

An interesting article on recent efforts to minimize seabird bycatch in
gillnets. This research was sponsored by and considerably assisted by
commercial gillnet fishermen in the US Puget Sound area (Washington State), and is an example of what can be done to address bycatch
problems. -- Glen Spain/Bird Bycatch Project

-------------------------------
Melvin, E.F., Parrish, J.K., and Conquest, L.L. Novel tools to reduce
seabird bycatch in coastal gillnet fisheries. Conservation Biology 13(6):
1386-1397, 1999.

Abstract: We examined several strategies to reduce seabird bycatch,
primarily of Common Murres (Uria aalge) and Rhinoceros Auklets
(Cerorhinca monocerata), in a coastal salmon drift gillnet fishery in
Puget Sound, Washington, U.S.A. Our goal was to significantly reduce
seabird bycatch without a concomitant reduction in target catch or an
increase in the bycatch of any other species. We compared fish catch
and seabird bycatch in nets modified to include visual alerts (highly
visible netting in the upper net) or acoustic alerts (pingers) to traditional
monofilament nets set throughout the normal fishing hours over a 5-
week fishing season. Catch and bycatch varied significantly as a
function of gear. Relative to monofilament controls, murres responded
to both visual and acoustic alerts; auklets and sockeye salmon
responded to deeper visual alerts only. Seabird abundance
varied across multiple temporal scales: interannually, within fishing
season, and over the day. At the international level, seabird
entanglement was linked to regional abundance on the fishing
grounds, a pattern that broke down at a local level. Within season,
sockeye and murre abundance were negatively correlated, suggesting
that if fishery openings were scheduled on peak abundance of the
target species, seabird bycatch would be significantly reduced as a
function of increased target fishing efficiency. Finally both sockeye
catch and auklet entanglement were highest at dawn, whereas murre
entanglement was high at both dawn and dusk. Our results identify
three complementary tools to reduce seabird bycatch in the Puget
Sound drift gillnet fishery - gear modifications, abundance-based
fishery openings, and time-of-day restrictions - for a possible
reduction in seabird bycatch of up to 70-75% without a significant
reduction in target get fishing efficiency. Although these tools are
based on local conditions and will thus vary among years and locations,
all might be exportable to other coastal gillnet fisheries worldwide.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 11 Feb 2000 12:45:05 -0500
From: Kim Rivera <Kim.Rivera at noaa.gov>
To: FISH1IFR at aol.com, birdbycatch at pond.net
Subject: Re:Good study on reducing bird bycatch in gillnets

This is the same model that is currently being used by Melvin and
Parrish to address seabird bycatch in longline fisheries in Alaska.
They are in the midst of a 2-year research study that is looking at
effectiveness of mitigation measures to avoid seabirds. The study is
being carried out on commercial fishing vessels with the industry's
cooperation. NMFS and the USFWS are 'onboard' also. One focus
of the research is to look for ways to improve the current seabird
avoidance regulations.
Kim Rivera, NMFS, Alaska Region
------------------- end ----------------------------------------------