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.     

Are circle hooks effective in reducing incidental captures of loggerhead sea turtles in a Mediterranean longline fishery?

• 1. A known fishing hot spot for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea is in the waters of the Strait of Sicily where interactions with fish hooks and branchlines are believed to be a major cause of mortality for sea turtles.
• 2. Hooks with different shapes but a similar gape width (circle hook size 16/0 vs J hook size 2) were tested in order to determine the potential effectiveness of the hook design to both reduce sea turtle capture as well as to maintain acceptable levels of target species capture rates in a shallow‐set longline swordfish fishery in the Mediterranean.
• 3. Seven experimental fishing trips, 30 000 hooks total, were conducted on a single commercial fishing vessel (18 m in length) in the Strait of Sicily during the months of July through October over a period of three years from 2005 to 2007. Circle and J hooks were alternated along the mainline.
• 4. A total of 26 sea turtles were hooked, all immature‐size Caretta caretta. Turtles were caught at a statistically greater frequency on J hooks than on circle hooks. The capture rate, weight, and upper jaw fork length of the target species were not significantly different between the two types of hooks employed.
• 5. Five sea turtles swallowed the hook and in all such cases these were J type. Circle hooks tended to be located externally and were more easily detected by fishermen, and could be removed with the correct dehooking action before returning the turtle to the sea.
• 6. These findings suggest that 16/0 circle hooks can effectively reduce the incidental capture of immature loggerhead sea turtles in a Mediterranean swordfish longline fishery without affecting the catch size of the target species.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Burrow building in seabird colonies: a soil-forming process in island ecosystems

Soil modification via biopedturbation by burrow-building seabirds was examined in a Mediterranean, island ecosystem. Physical and chemical soil properties were compared between a colony of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) and adjacent heath across a 14-month period. When compared to heath soil, the biopedturbated soil was 28% drier (6.04±5.40 vol%), had increased bulk density (by 29% to 1.30±0.11 g cm⁻³, 51% porosity), wetting capacity (by 83% to 0.55±0.83 molarity of ethanol droplet), hydraulic conductivity (by 266% to 398.91±252.04 mm h⁻¹), and a greater range in soil surface temperature (31.7±6.2 °C diurnally to 18.3±3.2 °C nocturnally). Soil penetration resistance was reduced by 26% at a depth of 0–100 mm (326.5±122.4 kPa) and by 55% at 500–600 mm (1116.8±465.0 kPa). Colony soil also had increased levels of nitrate (by 470%), phosphorous (118%), ammonium (102%), sulphur (69%), and potassium (34%), decreased levels of iron (by 50%) and organic carbon (61%), was more alkaline, and had a 78% greater conductivity. Shearwaters deposited guano at a rate of 234.4 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (dry mass). Chemical analysis of guano equated this to 50.9, 5.7, 5.5, and 3.6 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ of nitrogen, potassium, sulphur, and phosphorous, respectively. Experimentally constructed burrows demonstrated that digging alone can alter physical and chemical soil factors, but that changes in the nutrient profile of colony soils are predominantly guano-driven. We argue that the physical impact of seabirds on soil should not be overlooked as a soil-forming and ecosystem-shaping factor in island ecosystems, and that biopedturbation can exert major bottom-up influences on insular plant and animal communities.     

Identification and evaluation of shark bycatch in Georgia’s commercial shrimp trawl fishery with implications for management

Abstract Many US states have recreational and commercial fisheries that occur in nursery areas occupied by subadult sharks and can potentially affect their survival. Georgia is one of few US states without a directed commercial shark fishery, but the state has a large, nearshore penaeid shrimp trawl fishery in which small sharks occur as bycatch. During our 1995–1998 investigation of bycatch in fishery‐dependent sampling events, 34% of 127 trawls contained sharks. This bycatch totalled 217 individuals from six species, with Atlantic sharpnose shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae (Richardson), the most common and finetooth shark, Carcharhinus isodon (Müller & Henle) and spinner shark, Carcharhinus brevipinna (Müller & Henle), the least common. The highest catch rates for sharks occurred during June and July and coincided with the peak months of the pupping season for many species. Trawl tow speed and tow time did not significantly influence catch rates for shark species. Gear configurations [net type, turtle excluder device (TED), bycatch reduction device] affected catch rates for shark species. Results of this study indicate gear restrictions, a delayed season opening, or reduced bar spacing on TEDs may reduce shark bycatch in this fishery.     

Square‐mesh codend length and selectivity in southeastern Australian stow nets

Abstract The relationship between the amount of square mesh in codends and selectivity was investigated for an Australian penaeid stow‐net fishery. Three lengths (3, 2 and 1 m) of square‐mesh codend made from 27‐mm mesh hung on the bar were alternately tested with a conventional 34‐mm diamond‐mesh design during two covered‐codend experiments. Compared with the conventional codend, the square‐mesh configurations incrementally selected school prawns, Metapenaeus macleayi (Haswell) across narrower selection ranges (SR) and mostly at greater sizes at 50% retention (L₅₀), while retaining fewer fish. Irrespective of the mesh configuration or square‐mesh codend length, there were significant differences between experiments (attributed to water flow) and impacts of catch weight on the selectivity of school prawns. Both variables had a negative relationship with L₅₀, while water flow similarly affected SR. This study reaffirms the utility of square‐mesh codends as a key input control for managing the selectivity of penaeid‐catching gears.     

Sea turtle strandings reveal high anthropogenic mortality in Italian waters

• 1. Spatio‐temporal distribution and anthropogenic mortality factors were investigated in loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) found stranded or floating in the waters around Italy. A total of 5938 records for the period 1980–2008 were analysed concerning loggerhead turtles measuring from 3.8 to 97 cm curved carapace length (mean: 48.3 cm).
• 2. Results highlighted the following conservation issues: (i) in the study area, anthropogenic mortality is higher than natural mortality; (ii) interaction with fisheries is by far the most important anthropogenic mortality factor; (iii) longlines are an important mortality factor in the southern areas; (iv) trawlers are the cause of high numbers of dead strandings in the north Adriatic; (v) entanglement in ghost‐gear or in other anthropogenic debris affects high numbers of turtles; and (vi) boat strikes are an important source of mortality in most areas but mostly in the warm seasons.
• 3. Results also indicate that: (vii) the north Adriatic is the area with the highest turtle density; and (viii) the south Adriatic and to a lesser extent the surrounding areas of the north Adriatic and the Ionian, are important developmental areas for loggerhead turtles in the first years of life.
• 4. Italy is in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea and borders major foraging areas for the loggerhead turtles in the region, and these results confirm previous concerns about the level of anthropogenic mortality in Italian waters. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Adaptive bycatch reduction in penaeid trawls via rapid adjustments to headline height

Penaeid trawling is among the world's least selective fishing methods; a characteristic that has evoked spatial closures being implemented in some fisheries if certain bycatch limits are exceeded. For decades, considerable work has been done to develop modifications to penaeid trawls that reduce unwanted bycatches, with most focussed at the posterior section (i.e. codend). More recently, efforts have examined ways to prevent bycatch entry into trawls entirely—via modifications to anterior components. This study assessed the utility of proactively lowering the headlines of Australian penaeid trawls, using clips at the otter boards, to 68% and 54% of their conventional height, and demonstrated mean total bycatch reductions (by weight) of 69% and 79%, respectively, with no effects on the targeted Metapenaeus macleayi (Haswell). The results provide insights into the location and behaviour of various species in the water column preceding capture, and support a simple and easy method for regional fishers to use in situ to avoid excessive bycatch and associated fishing closures. More broadly, the data support ongoing efforts in other penaeid‐trawl fisheries to reduce bycatches via similar, rapid adjustments to anterior components, depending on species‐specific behaviours during capture.