Post‐release mortality estimates of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) caught in pelagic longline fisheries based on satellite data and hooking location

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Depredation by harbor seal and spiny dogfish in a Georges Bank gillnet fishery

Abstract Depredation can have economic, social and ecological impacts by decreasing fishery landings and threatening marine predator populations through increased risk of entanglement. This investigation quantified the loss of landings attributed to harbour seal, Phoca vitulina L., and spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias L., depredation in the Georges Bank, Massachusetts, USA gillnet fishery. Approximately 1361 kg (2.38%) of fish was discarded from a total possible catch weight of nearly 57 300 kg because it was unsalable following depredation. Spiny dogfish accounted for 1134 kg (1.98%), and harbour seal accounted for 227 kg (0.40%) of discards. This represented an estimated US$2250 loss in profits from a total possible catch value of almost US$61 800, signifying a 3.64% market‐value loss during the assessment period. These results suggest that discarding due to harbour seal and spiny dogfish depredation results in a relatively small market loss to fishers, although additional information and research is needed before this can be confirmed. This study is the first on this subject in the fishery and provides baseline information on depredation rates that could be useful if harbour seal and spiny dogfish populations continue to increase.     

Annual survival probabilities of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles indicate high anthropogenic impact on Mediterranean populations

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Short-term stress and mortality of juvenile school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi, discarded from seines and trawls

Abstract  Two experiments were carried out to assess the short-term impacts to juvenile school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi (Haswell) discarded from commercial seining and trawling in New South Wales, Australia, and the potential utility of modifications to operational and/or onboard handling practices designed to improve survival. For both gears, discards were handled according to two general categories of treatment (termed mild and extreme) chosen to represent the plausible limits of severity during existing commercial operations. A total of 600 trawled and 480 seined school prawns (from both treatments), along with appropriate numbers of controls (previously collected and housed in acclimation tanks), were placed into cages (in groups of 10). Subsets of each of these groups were then destructively sampled over periods of up to 5 days and examined for their mortality and physiological response (measured as levels of l -lactate in the haemolymph). In both experiments, the temporal mortalities in the treatment groups ranged between 0% and 15% and, for the most part, were not significantly different to controls. Prawns in the treatment groups had similar, significantly elevated levels of l -lactate approximately 40 min after being caught, but these returned to levels approaching baseline estimates within 48 h. Under the conditions examined, juvenile school prawns appear capable of withstanding a range of stressors associated with being discarded from active gears, and their fate is not greatly influenced by the duration of gear deployment and subsequent air exposure. However, further work is required to quantify other sources of unaccounted fishing mortality and, ultimately, the impacts that discarding has on stocks.     

Mortality induced by drifting longline hooks and branchlines in loggerhead sea turtles,estimated through observation in captivity

• 1. Drifting longlines are considered a major threat to endangered sea turtle populations worldwide. However, for a number of reasons, the mortality rate of captured turtles is not known with any certainty.
• 2. Information on 409 loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), collected during the day‐to‐day activities of a turtle rescue centre in Lampedusa island, central Mediterranean, in the period 2001–2005 has been analysed.
• 3. Observations indicate that: (i) drifting longlines are a major cause of mortality for sea turtles in the area; (ii) in addition to the hook, the piece of line attached to it (branchline) can easily cause death if it is long enough and well‐anchored; (iii) hooks and branchlines cause death in the short and long term, respectively; (iv) a turtle with a hook in the lower oesophagus/stomach has a very low chance of surviving the combined effect of hook and branchline; (v) the mortality of turtles with a hook in the mouth or higher oesophagus is probably important, though less than that of turtles with a hook in the lower oesophagus/stomach; (vi) in the study fishery, the average mortality of a turtle caught by a drifting longline is probably much higher than 30%.
• 4. Without specific investigations on the mortality of turtles with hooks in the mouth or higher oeasophagus, which are usually removed, the mortality induced by drifting longlines will remain unknown, preventing a full understanding of the effect on population growth and the real effectiveness of conservation measures such as use of different hooks and fishing depths, and proposals for adequate fishery management measures.
• 5. The number of turtles captured by drifting longlines should be drastically reduced, and because of the above uncertainty and the socio‐economic importance of the fishery sector, an ecosystem‐based management scheme should be promoted that is not limited to addressing only the turtle issue.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Settling velocity and particle size bioengineering parameters gathered from solids generated by wild-caught premature punctuated snake-eels (Ophichthus remiger) reared in a marine prototype recirculating aquaculture system

This research reveals the applied engineering basis for determining the particle size and settling velocity distributions of solids generated while rearing wild-caught premature punctuated snake-eels (Ophichthus remiger) in a prototype recirculating aquacultural system. Settled solids were sampled from the bottom of the rearing tanks, and suspended solids were sampled before filtration within the drum filter and analyzed to characterize their settling velocity and particle size properties. These particle properties are considered bioengineering parameters since they will provide biological information to improve engineering solutions for RAS solids removal processes. The average settling velocity for the settleable solids in the rearing tanks was 2.89 ± 0.02 cm s⁻¹, and the average particle size ranged between 7.32 ± 3.41 and 19.44 ± 8.58 mm. Suspended solids within the drum filters before filtration had an average settling velocity of 0.35 ± 0.11 cm s⁻¹ and it was found that 69.93 % of the particles size was greater than 200 μm, 15.40 % were within the range of 120 μm and 90 μm sizes, and 6.53 % were between 70 μm and 40 μm sizes. The particle physical properties, settling curves, and particle sizes curves obtained from this experience represent valuable information to be used to improve engineering design of solids handling mechanisms, especially in marine land-based systems, and in this case, applied for rearing wild-caught punctuated snake-eels. The present investigation constitutes an advance in the knowledge of applied engineering to the design of a marine aquaculture fattening operation targeted to feed up wild-caught premature punctuated snake-eels to the point of sale or trade.     

Modifying otter boards to reduce bottom contact: effects on catches and efficiencies of triple‐rigged penaeid trawls

Two otter‐board modifications designed to minimise bottom contact (and therefore habitat impacts) were compared against conventional otter boards for their relative effects on the engineering and catching efficiencies of triple‐rigged penaeid trawls. The first modification involved restricting the angle of attack (AOA) of a flat–rectangular otter board to <30^° by attaching a restraining line to an adjacent sled, while the second was a ‘batwing’ otter board comprising a sled‐and‐sail assembly operating at 20^° AOA. The modifications reduced otter‐board bottom contact by up to 8 ha over a night's fishing without affecting standardised catches (per ha) of the targeted eastern king prawns, Penaeus plebejus, nor the fuel required. Further, compared to all other trawls, the restrained trawls caught less discarded bycatch (by up to 37%), while the trawls spread by the modified flat–rectangular and batwing otter boards caught more individuals of three retained benthic teleost species per ha than the conventional configuration; results that were attributed to species‐specific herding responses. Both modifications represent simple alternatives where there are concerns over either benthic impacts or, for the restraining line, unwanted bycatches in penaeid‐trawl fisheries.     

Broadbill swordfish: status of established fisheries and lessons for developing fisheries

Guidelines for the assessment and management of developing swordfish fisheries are derived through an examination of five swordfish fisheries. As they develop, swordfish fisheries may be inclined to local depletion around underwater features, such as seamounts and banks. Few nations have applied the precautionary approach in managing their developing swordfish fisheries. Without controls, swordfish fisheries expand geographically and fishing effort increases, often overshooting optimum levels. However, it is difficult to distinguish clear evidence of fishery collapse; modern longliners harvest widely distributed tuna and swordfish and they are able to relocate to distant areas or switch between target species in response to fluctuations in species abundance and price. Furthermore, the wide distribution of swordfish combined with year‐round spawning and high growth rates amongst juveniles probably contribute to the apparent resilience of swordfish stocks to intensive harvesting. Over half the world’s swordfish catch is taken as an incidental catch of longliners fishing for tuna. In several areas, such as the North Atlantic, catch quotas have sometimes caused tuna longline fishers to discard swordfish. Minimum size limits have also resulted in discarding of swordfish in tuna fisheries and in dedicated swordfish fisheries. In addition to weakening the effectiveness of those management measures, bycatch and discarding add to the complexities of managing swordfish fisheries and to uncertainties in assessing the stocks. Longliners that target swordfish often fish at high latitudes where interactions with marine wildlife, such as seabird, are generally more frequent than at low latitudes. Concern over incidental catches of marine wildlife and other species is becoming a driving force in the management of several swordfish fisheries. Fishery management organisations will need to implement management measures to protect non‐target species and gather reliable data and information on the situation by placing observers on boats fishing for swordfish.     

Estimating incidental takes of shearwaters in driftnet fisheries: lessons for the conservation of seabirds

We consider estimation of the magnitude of incidental fisheries ‘bycatch’ for two petrel species, sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) and short-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris). There are clear statistical advantages in estimating bycatch for abundant species such as these, and our results may also guide the conservation and management of rarer species. We used fisheries statistics and observer data to estimate retrospectively the total numbers of sooty and short-tailed shearwaters bycatch in seven large-scale pelagic North Pacific driftnet fisheries between 1952 and 2001. Sensitivity analysis greatly simplified estimation of uncertainty by identifying four driftnet fisheries to be of particular importance in determining the magnitude and precision of the estimated bycatch totals. We estimated that between 1.0 and 12.8 million (95% CI) sooty shearwaters were killed by driftnets between 1952 and 2001. For short-tailed shearwaters we estimated between 4.6 and 21.2 million (95% CI) over the same period. More precise estimation was hampered by the paucity of available observer data, lack of reported detail and inconsistencies among data sources. Estimates may be strongly biased because some dead birds are misidentified or drop out of nets before hauling, or because some records were of live captures that were subsequently released. Improved estimation of overall take and its impact on populations of seabirds requires standardisation of reporting, allowance for potential sampling bias, as well as a clearer definition of the sampling unit and underlying bycatch probability distribution model, and knowledge of potential compensatory changes in population parameters.     

Are bycatch rates sufficient as the principal fishery performance measure and method of assessment for seabirds?

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