Bycatch Mitigation Clause Samples

Bycatch Mitigation. 11.4.1 New Zealand presented (AC2 Inf. 1) which reviewed seabird bycatch mitigation measures in global fisheries and provided conclusions and recommendations in relation to these measures. The review captured information from a variety of local, national and international sources. Factors influencing the appropriateness and effectiveness of mitigation measures include the type of fishery, vessel, location, seabird assemblage present and time of year. As such, implementing combinations of mitigation measures is recommended. Retention or strategic management of fish waste is extremely important in reducing seabird bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries. Recommended mitigation methods for both demersal and pelagic longlining include paired bird-scaring lines, line-weighting and night-setting. Along with offal and discard management, paired bird-scaring lines and minimising the time the net is on (or near) the surface are likely to reduce significantly seabird interactions with both the warp cables and net. Urgent investigation is needed into more effective measures to reduce seabird interactions with trawl nets and cables. The Committee noted that more clearly defined partitioning of pelagic and demersal longlining data was necessary. 11.4.2 Current New Zealand work on mitigation includes trials to determine the efficacy of mitigation measures in its southern squid fishery (AC2 Inf. 5). Overseen by an advisory group of government, NGO and industry representatives, these trials will test paired bird-scaring lines, the `▇▇▇▇▇` warp scarer and bird bafflers with data collected by government observers. Efficacy will be assessed by seabird contacts with warp cables. 11.4.3 The USA tabled AC2 Inf. 8, 9 & 10 summarising research on the design and use of bird avoidance measures on small vessels within the Alaskan demersal longline fishery. It was concluded that these measures were not necessary for these vessels as they fish close to shore and do not overlap with the distribution of procellariiform seabirds. The USA also reported on side-setting in the Hawaiian pelagic longline fishery, and a programme to assist with converting vessels to side-setting. Australia reported that from limited data of side-setting on a single vessel, line-sink rates were similar to those for ▇▇▇▇▇-setting. 11.4.4 Discussion centred on how the Committee could complement existing efforts to record, analyse and reduce the incidental mortality of albatrosses and petrels in fisheries. 11.4.5 ...