C 55.302: B 99

U.S. Depart

Each day's news seems to bring yet another story about fisheries
bycatch.When I assumed this agency's top post in 1993, 1
vowed to work in partnership with the states and the U.S.
fishing industry to reduce bycatch.We are now beginning to see
progress in this area, for both fisheries stocks and protected species.
I firmly believe that government alone cannot resolve this issue: if
industry is part of the bycatch problem, then industry must willingly
be part of the solution.

An important part of my pledge to industry

was to inform fishermen and the public about

our progress in bycatch control. This brochure,

which describes the current state of bycatch, is

only the first of several reports intended to

communicate accurate and timely information

on the topic. The next such document will be

the National Marine Fisheries Service strategic

bycatch plan, and there will be many other

research and progress reports as we move steadily toward our goal:

healthy, sustainable stocks of all living marine resources in our

nation's waters.

RoUand A. Schmitten, Director

National Marine Fisheries Service '. '

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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Pennsylvania state University
Libraries

JUL 0 8 1997

Documents Collection
U.S. Depository Copy

bycAtcJh

the word conjures an image of immense carnage and great waste
of valuable fisheries resources. Graphic news photos show nets
and traps twisted around the corpses of dolphins, seals, and sea
birds, with abandoned gear migrating across the sea floor to
decimate generations of crabs and fish. In truth, bycatch
sometimes contributes to overfishing, and many tons of fish are
discarded in U.S. fisheries. But portrayals of bycatch are often
misleading. The intent of this brochure from the Department of
Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is to
improve understanding of these issues.

by ''byantch"^

The public currently hears a great deal about
bycatch, although it is not a new issue — the
Bible mentions throwing away unwanted fish
as the catch is sorted from fishermen's nets. But
bycatch today is a concern of international
proportions affecting every major fishing
nation. This concern has led to strong measures
by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries
Service, the U.S. Congress, and the United
Nations to reduce fisheries bycatch.

There is no universally accepted definition of the
term "bycatch." Very broadly, of course, it is
regarded as unintended fisheries catch. The newly
reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conser-
vation and Management Act defines bycatch as
"fish which are harvested in a fishery but which
are not sold or kept for personal use, and includes
economic discards and regulatory discards." The
Act specifically excludes fish that are released alive
under recreational catch-and-release programs.

SoHte^ Cot^u^tony Terms

CAixM/. The catch of a species (for example, shrimp, cod, or bluefin tuna), a particular size or
\^ox an assemblage of species (such as "reef fish") that is primarily sought in a fishery.

tncideittat catch/. The catch that was not targeted, as when a fisher catches croakers while
trawling for shrimp.

VUcaJTlitd/ CAtciv. That portion of the catch returned to the sea or elsewhere as a result of
economic, legal, or personal considerations. This includes regulatory discards (sizes, sex, and species
that must be returned to the sea whether dead or alive at capture) and economic ("discretionary")
discards, which are the target of a fishery, but are not retained because they are of an undesirable
size, sex, or quality.

Prohibited/ Species. A species for which retention is prohibited in a specific fishery. For example,
Alaska king crab taken in groundfish trawls cannot be retained, while those caught in authorized crab
pots can.

Protected/ SMcies. Any species subject to special conservation and management measures, such as
the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, or Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Unobierued/ftshlKa tftortality. Mortality of a marine species resulting from an encounter with
fishing gear tnat does not result m the capture of that species by a fisherman. For example, fish
frequently escape after being hooked, but may later die unnoticed.

mdespread
U bycatcJh?

Bycatch problems are both global and national.
An overview is found in the 1994 United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) paper "A Global Assessment of Fisheries
Bycatch and Discards."

World Bycatch

FAO conservatively estimates annual worldwide
commercial fisheries discards at 27 million met-
ric tons (mt), with about 77 million mt of catch
landed. Thus, about one-quarter of the catch
may be discarded. This does not include recre-
ational and subsistence discards or discards in

many mollusk fisheries, which would substan-
tially increase the estimates.

The global bycatch of protected species is also
substantial. The International Whaling
Commission estimates that 65,000 to 80,000
marine mammals still perish as bycatch each
year. Purse seine fisheries for yellowfin tuna in
the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) killed hun-
dreds of thousands of dolphins annually until
the 1990s, when such deaths decreased to less
than 4,000 each year, due to industry efforts.
FAO reports 40,000 sea turdes killed annually
in global longline fisheries, and additional turtle

Stern trawlers
are the back-
bone of the
North Pacific
groundfish
fisheries.

Thousands of small shrimp boats trawl the northern Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic.

deaths occur in other gear. Sea bird capture is
another growing concern, especially for some
albatross and petrel species in longline fisheries.

resulting closure of the target fishery sometimes
means that groundfish quotas worth millions of
dollars remain uncaught.

U.S. Bycatch

The highest U.S. ratios of discarded-to-retained
catch are in Southeast shrimp trawl fisheries,
although this bycatch is steadily declining.
However, ratios do not adequately measure the
impact on bycatch species: heavy shrimping
bycatch of some fish species, such as red snap-
per, may seriously diminish these stocks, yet not
be a problem for other species, such as spot.
Conservation problems also occur elsewhere,
such as New England, where yellowtail floun-
der are so severely depleted that their take as
bycatch seriously impedes the stock's recovery.

North Pacific groundfish fisheries have
America's largest volume of bycatch, although it
is just a small percent of the huge harvest. They
also face complex allocation problems when
bycatch limits on "prohibited species catches"
(crab, salmon, and halibut) are reached. The

Recreational fishing, too, can result in heavy
discarding. In the Southeast, for example, more
than 50 percent of the recreational catch is
released because of voluntary "catch-and-
release" practices or as a result of bag or size
limits. But little is known about the survival
rates for many discarded recreational species.

Protected species bycatch is another serious
national concern. The National Academy of
Sciences estimates that in the 1 980s, southeastern
shrimp trawling may have resulted in up to
55,000 sea turde drownings each year. The
required use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs)
has reduced this mortality significandy. Although
ETP dolphin takes have been cut dramatically,
harbor porpoise are sdll killed in Gulf of Maine
gillnets, and beaked whales somerimes perish in
Atlantic swordfish drift gillnets. However, it is
important to remember that most fisliorics do
not take substandal numbers of protected species.

bycatdh such cu
cofiiyoi^tvslcdL to^?

Bycatch raises conservation, economic, social
and ethical concerns. Controversy is especially
likely v/hen one fishery inadvertently catches
fish that constitute another group's livelihood.
For example, young flounder killed as bycatch
in the Northeast sea scallop fishery will never
be available to the flounder fishery. Other eco-
nomic concerns surface when vessel owners
are required to purchase new, more selective

gear in order to protect dolphins, sea turtles,
and sea birds.

Survival rates, which vary widely among fish-
eries, are another subject of controversy for
both discards and animals that manage to escape
after capture. For instance, survival of ground-
fish in North Pacific fisheries is markedly differ-
ent among trawls, pots, and longlines. Survival

also varies by vessel type, fishing area and time,
size and condition of captured fish, and other
factors.

Of course, not all animals that encounter fishing
gear are killed or discarded. Some gear (such as
pots and traps) and species (such as some crabs
and lobsters) may allow for returning unwanted
catch to the sea in good condition.

Utilization is another growing controversy.
Some people want laws that require utiHzation
of the entire catch or some defined portion of
it. Others disagree, citing a lack of markets or
very low prices for discards. Some groups are
also concerned about ecosystem balance and
the potential for polluting coastal areas with
processing waste. Another fear is that requiring
full utilization may sidestep the more important
goal of avoiding bycatch in the first place; if not
properly accounted for, such "utilized" bycatch
could lead to overfishing.

Bycatch controversies can have sweeping conse-
quences, as when consumers boycott products
of fisheries deemed wasteful or anti-conserva-
tion. Such a "pubHc ethic" was responsible for
fishery regulations that ultimately drove most of
the U.S. Pacific tuna fleet across the world to
Guam and American Samoa. The bycatch spot-
light can lead to real improvements in conserva-
tion, but may also lead to unpredictable effects.
Banning a fishing practice in one area may
merely shift fishing effort elsewhere, or replace
one bycatch problem with a worse problem.

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Modern fishing means new regulations and gear modification.

ComMU>yv Cokxi^ks About Bycatch

subject of bycatch can elicit very strong societal reactions. The National Fisheries Conservation Center, an
-focused group, has framed peoples' concerns in a helpful way:

SeyuaiioM/. Does bycatch endanger stocks not
tended to be taken, or does it contribute to
/erfishing by catching the target species at an age
sexual stage that should be allowed to grow and
Juce in order to rebuild the stock?

OH/. Is the fishing industry using what it
itches? Should it utilize all it catches?

Ccita>etvdOfV foir tke resource.. Does one fishery's
bycatch diminish the amount or value of species that
can be taken in another fishery?

Ethics. Is it wrong to unavoidably kill or to harass
certain creatures, such as dolphins, in the course of
fishing activities, or to kill very large quantities of
unwanted fish?

ie Magnuson-Stevens Act reflects all these concerns and adds a new National Standard: "Conservation and
management measures shall, to the extent practicable, (A) minimize bycatch and (B) to the extent bycatch cannot
be avoided, minimize the mortality of such bycatch." The eight Regional Fishery Management Councils share
with the Secretary q^^jyjnjjigrgp the responsibility for implementing this standard in all federal fishery
management plans.

byaid:M difficMJlt'i

There are many obstacles to effective bycatch
control.

KHOwieJ^e^ gc^^. Scientific information is
often poor, especially on the magnitude of dis-
cards and unobserved mortality; animals' ability to
escape fishing gear; economic and social impacts
of bycatch; effects of regulations on target and
nontarget species; and the ecological conse-
quences of both discarding and fiiU utilization.

PeasibUlty. Some proposed innovations and
incentives may be too difficult or costly to im-
plement. Market-driven measures, or those

The Regional Fishery IVIanagement Councils work with
industry to develop bycatch measures.

depending on individual accountability, may
require changes in applicable statutes. And con-
flicting state and federal fishery regulations may
impede bycatch reduction.

Pailure' to use^ seiectwt^ aeay. Many fishing
operations are financially marginal and unable
to invest in more selective gear or fishing prac-
tices. They may also simply be unaware of
innovations in other countries or fisheries. Or
gear experts may not be available to demon-
strate or fine-tune new gear.

tnJbercucdom bett^^eefvfUkerles. Measures to
control a fishery's bycatch frequently have both
anticipated and unanticipated effects on other
fisheries. For example, vessels that have reached
their bycatch "cap" often shift operations to
other areas and target species, altering bycatch
patterns there. Time or area closures, gear
restrictions, and other measures can have similar
impacts and sometimes, what solves one bycatch
problem creates another, as when modifying
tuna fishing practices to avoid catching dolphins
results in increased bycatch of immature tunas
and other species.

Even with selective fishing gear and practices,
and progressive regulations, some level of
bycatch is going to be unavoidable. This is espe-
cially true when the target and bycatch species
are similar sizes, school together, and have simi-
lar responses to fishing gear.

Tke^ VoKaevs of geKevaiizAtioKs

lough trawl fisheries account for more bycatch than
"other gear types, bycatch also occurs with gillnets,

longlines, purse seines, trolls, pots, dredges, sportfishing
^gckle, and all other gear. Generalizing about any one
■ieartype is dangerous, however, because of great
Bariability in gear conformation, fishing practices,

geographic area, season, time of day, crew expertise,

and other factors.

One of the most highly publicized bycatch controversies
did not involve trawling at all, but concerned the high-
seas driftnet fisheries for salmon and squid. FAO notes
that bycatch rates and types differed dramatically
among the few nations using this gear, with Japanese
driftnets having a much greater bycatch of salmon,
marine mammals, sea birds, and turtles than did the
more numerous Korean and Taiwanese nets. But they
were all perceived as jeopardizing the ocean ecosystem,
and all use of these huge nets has now been banned by
the United Nations.

Effective enforcement is one key to effective
bycatch regulation.

State and federal scientists onboard research vessels provide information on discarded catch.

\U NMPSdoi
to reduce^ by

oUta
bs/catdvi

In 1995, the Fisheries Service sponsored work-
shops for bycatch experts. The goal was to cre-
ate a cooperative bycatch reduction planning
network. The hundreds of participants from
state and federal agencies, Native American
tribes, the fishing industry, university Sea Grant
programs, and nongovernment organizations
agreed on the need to adopt several strategies:

Involve all participating fishery interests.

Identify specific regional and national needs
and funding sources.

Develop effective systems to coordinate,
monitor, and evaluate bycatch reduction
measures.

The NMFS science centers work with universities and industry on bycatch solutions.

^Hj^ /."^^^^^^^^^^^^^l^^^l

Above: NMFS evaluates new commercial bycatch reduction devices in sea
trials. Right: Southeastern fishing gear experts are working to combine turtle
excluder and fish excluder devices for shrimp trawl nets.

■ Implement market-based incentives, where
appropriate.

■ Ensure that controversial or complex issues
involve a well-coordinated public education
effort.

■ Develop communications systems to share
bycatch-related information, especially global
solutions.

■ Use skilled arbitrators to mediate conflicts
and move competing stakeholders toward
cooperative partnerships.

The Fisheries Service has already begun to
implement these strategies. A team of its bycatch
experts has developed a long-range strategic
plan that summarizes knowledge about bycatch,
identifies information needs, and offers options
to coordinate agency and external research
efforts. The agency's Marine Fisheries Advisory
Committee (MAFAC) is helping to guide
bycatch policy at the national level, and the

Regional Fishery Management Councils are
working with the Fisheries Service to imple-
ment the bycatch provisions of the new
Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Special agency studies have explored market-
based bycatch solutions, public education strate-
gies, and planning alternatives. And since
research is a key to reducing bycatch, the
agency's Saltonstall-Kennedy and Marine
Fisheries Initiative (MARFIN) programs, as
well as other funds, are being used to develop:

■ Effective bycatch-reduction devices and
conservation-oriented fishing practices.

■ Biological, economic, and sociological infor-
mation for the fisheries and the fishing com-
munities that depend on them.

■ Bycatch management options.

■ Technologies to utilize discards and reduce
processing waste.

^catcJh/ (

s Stories

The world's best-known dolphin conservation
program is in the Southwest, where the setting
of purse seines around ETP tuna schooling with
dolphin has ceased. As a result, canned tuna
sold in this country is virtually "dolphin-safe,"
and the fishery's dolphin kills dropped
dramatically by 1995.

Southeast

Government and industry have implemented a cooperative
research program to reduce finfish bycatch in Gulf of
Mexico and South Atlantic shrimp fisheries. The program
has led to a real understanding of how shrimp trawls affect
finfish stocks, and has resulted in very effective bycatch-
reduction devices for these fisheries. The region also has a
highly regarded technology transfer program for TEDs.

North PaxuRo

In the North Pacific, industry's desire to improve survival
of halibut bycatch led to methods to safely and quickly
release this species. Another industry innovation elec-
tronically transmits observer data from the groundfish
fleet to a private contractor for "real-time" analysis,
then transmits the information to the vessels so they
can avoid crab, halibut, and salmon "hot spots."

Northeast

In the Northeast, the "Nordmore grate" finfish
excluder device for shrimp nets has proven its worth
to the industry by reducing costly shipboard sorting.
In addition, scientists and harvesters are jointly test-
ing the effectiveness of gillnet "pingers" — electronic
devices that emit beeper-like sounds to warn harbor
porpoises of the nets' proximity.

Over the past two decades, dolphin deaths
purse seine tuna fishery have decreased dr

hvburey kotcL?

While effective conservation gear is a major
element of reducing bycatch, American and
foreign fisheries are also implementing many
other measures to reduce bycatch.

Area and seasonal closures are common, the
devastating use of explosives on reefs is being
prohibited, and fishermen are being trained in
new fishing practices. Industry and netmakers
are working closely with governments to
understand how the swimming behavior of
bycatch species can be channeled to avoid cap-
turing them. And where protected species are
present, vessel crews are being taught to resus-
citate and release captured sea turtles and other
animals.

But it is important to remember, reflecting
the Magnuson-Stevens Act goal of minimizing
bycatch to the extent practicable, that there
will always be some bycatch in fishing activi-
ties.

Perhaps most encouragingly, there is a growing
global commitment to reducing bycatch.
Cooperative industry-government efforts are
increasing, permitting rapid integration of new
products and timely information into fishing
operations. The National Marine Fisheries
Service and its parent organization, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
believe these partnerships are the key to
improved bycatch management.

Your vieMn are^ (ArelcotM£y

This brochure is only the first of several reports intended to communicate progress by industry and the
government in reducing bycatch. The views and suggestions of everyone interested in reducing bycatch are
welcome. Comments may be directed to any of the following:

NMFS Headquarters

1315 East- West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Director, National Marine Fisheries Service
Director, Office of Science and Technology
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries
Director, Office of Protected Resources

Regional Administrators

Northeast Region: One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 10930

Southeast Region: 9721 Executive Center Drive, N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702

Southwest Region: 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802

Northwest Region: 7600 Sand Point Way, N.E., Bin C15700, Building 1, Seatde,WA 98115

Alaska Region: RO. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802

To tre^ici tM^orey about bycatdv

Alverson, D., M. Freeberg, S. Murawski, and J. Pope. 1994. A Global Assessment of Fisheries Bycatch and
Discards. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 339. Rome, Italy. 233 pp.

University of Alaska Sea Grant Program. Solving Bycatch: Considerations for Today and Tomorrow.
Proceedings of a symposium, Seatde,WA, September 25-27, 1995. Alaska Sea Grant College Program
Report No. 96-03, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. 322 pp.

U.S. Department of Commerce. 1996. Our Living Oceans: Report on the Status of U.S. Living Marine
Resources, 1995. NOAATech. Memo NMFS-F/SPO-19. 160 pp. Available from: NOAA/NMFS, Office of
the Senior Scientist, 1315 East- West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

U.S. Department of Commerce. 1995. Cooperative Research Program Addressing Finfish Bycatch in the
Gulf of Mexico and South Adantic Shrimp Fisheries: A Report to Congress. 68 pp. Available from:
NOAA/NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, 9721 Executive Center Drive, N. St., Petersburg, FL 33702.

Warren, B., editor. 1994. Win- Win Bycatch Solutions: A Handbook for Collaboration. National Fisheries
Conservation Center, Seattle, WA. 113 pp. Available from: Journal PubHcations, Seattle, WA 98199.

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