Date: February 21, 2019
Source: University of Washington
In the 1990s, the endangered
status of the short-tailed albatross catalyzed efforts to reduce the number of
birds accidentally killed as bycatch in Alaska, home to the country's biggest
fisheries. Marine fisheries scientist Ed Melvin, at Washington Sea Grant at the
University of Washington, and research associate Kim Dietrich, an independent
contractor, were at the forefront of a collaborative research effort that led
to Alaska's longline fisheries adopting streamer lines in 2002, a technology
that is towed behind vessels to create a visual barrier that keeps seabirds
away from the baited hooks below.
In a new study published Jan. 28
in the journal Conservation Biology,
Melvin, Dietrich and partners from Oregon State University and the Alaska
Fisheries Science Center show that in the time since they were adopted, streamer
lines have had an extraordinary impact: seabird bycatch in Alaska's longline
fisheries has been reduced by 77 to 90 percent, saving thousands of birds per
year including hundreds of albatrosses.
Melvin said much of this success
is thanks to the fishing industry's active involvement when the team was
researching methods to avoid seabird bycatch two decades ago.
"It's really to the
industry's credit that they were fully engaged in the research and started
implementing streamer lines two to three years before they became
mandatory," Melvin said. "The fishermen owned the solution from start
to finish."
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