Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets
Bycatch in gillnets is a global issue and mitigation measures that balance target species catch rates, bycatch reduction and fisher support are scarce. In the North Atlantic lumpfish fisheries, bycatch includes marine mammals and seabirds, and there are no permanent technical initiatives to reduce t...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsos.221536 2024-09-09T19:36:50+00:00 Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets Post, Søren Merkel, Flemming Bak-Jensen, Zita Koch, Christoffer Hedeholm, Rasmus Berg Marine Stewardship Council Greenland Institute of Natural Resources 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221536 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.221536 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.221536 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 4 ISSN 2054-5703 journal-article 2023 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221536 2024-07-08T04:26:35Z Bycatch in gillnets is a global issue and mitigation measures that balance target species catch rates, bycatch reduction and fisher support are scarce. In the North Atlantic lumpfish fisheries, bycatch includes marine mammals and seabirds, and there are no permanent technical initiatives to reduce the bycatch. In the West Greenland fishery, common eider bycatch is several thousand individuals annually. We explored if bycatch in this fishery could be reduced by modifying standard lumpfish gillnets by adding a 45 cm high small-meshed net panel to the bottom part of the net. We tested the nets in combination with standard nets and estimated catch rates in a controlled setting in 2021 and in the commercial fishery in 2022. The modified nets had a 71% reduced bycatch rate for common eider and a 25% reduced catch rate for female lumpfish. A combination of the panel and increased seaweed entanglement was the most likely explanation for the effect. In addition to the effect of the net modification, the common eider bycatch decreased significantly during the season, and we recommend studying the net effect further and exploring the option of postponing the fishing season as a simpler way of reducing bycatch. Article in Journal/Newspaper Common Eider Greenland North Atlantic The Royal Society Greenland Royal Society Open Science 10 4 |
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language |
English |
description |
Bycatch in gillnets is a global issue and mitigation measures that balance target species catch rates, bycatch reduction and fisher support are scarce. In the North Atlantic lumpfish fisheries, bycatch includes marine mammals and seabirds, and there are no permanent technical initiatives to reduce the bycatch. In the West Greenland fishery, common eider bycatch is several thousand individuals annually. We explored if bycatch in this fishery could be reduced by modifying standard lumpfish gillnets by adding a 45 cm high small-meshed net panel to the bottom part of the net. We tested the nets in combination with standard nets and estimated catch rates in a controlled setting in 2021 and in the commercial fishery in 2022. The modified nets had a 71% reduced bycatch rate for common eider and a 25% reduced catch rate for female lumpfish. A combination of the panel and increased seaweed entanglement was the most likely explanation for the effect. In addition to the effect of the net modification, the common eider bycatch decreased significantly during the season, and we recommend studying the net effect further and exploring the option of postponing the fishing season as a simpler way of reducing bycatch. |
author2 |
Marine Stewardship Council Greenland Institute of Natural Resources |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Post, Søren Merkel, Flemming Bak-Jensen, Zita Koch, Christoffer Hedeholm, Rasmus Berg |
spellingShingle |
Post, Søren Merkel, Flemming Bak-Jensen, Zita Koch, Christoffer Hedeholm, Rasmus Berg Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
author_facet |
Post, Søren Merkel, Flemming Bak-Jensen, Zita Koch, Christoffer Hedeholm, Rasmus Berg |
author_sort |
Post, Søren |
title |
Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
title_short |
Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
title_full |
Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
title_fullStr |
Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bycatch mitigation in the West Greenland lumpfish ( Cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
title_sort |
bycatch mitigation in the west greenland lumpfish ( cyclopterus lumpus ) fishery using modified gillnets |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221536 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.221536 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsos.221536 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Common Eider Greenland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Common Eider Greenland North Atlantic |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science volume 10, issue 4 ISSN 2054-5703 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221536 |
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Royal Society Open Science |
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10 |
container_issue |
4 |
_version_ |
1809905987915612160 |