Oceana Bycatch Report

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Authors: Amanda Keledjian, Gib Brogan, Beth Lowell, Jon Warrenchuk,Ben Enticknap, Geoff Shester, Michael Hirsheld and Dominique Cano-Stocco

WASTED CATCH: UNSOLVED PROBLEMS IN U.S. FIS


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ACCORDING TO SOMEESTIMATES, GLOBALBYCATCH MAY AMOUNTTO 40 PERCENT OF THEWORLDS CATCH,TOTALING 63 BILLIONPOUNDS PER YEAR


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4 OCEANA Protecting the Worlds Oceans

CONTENTS05 Executive Summary

06 Quick Facts

06 What Is Bycatch?

08 Bycatch Is An Undocumented Problem10 Bycatch Occurs Every Day In The U.S.

15 Notable Progress, But No Solution

26 Nine Dirty Fisheries

37 National Policies To Minimize Bycatch

39 Recommendations

39 Conclusion

40 Oceana Reducing Bycatch: A Timeline

42 References

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors would like to thank JenniferHueting and In-House Creative for graphicdesign and the following individuals for theircontributions during the development andreview of this report: Eric Bilsky, Dustin Cranor,Mike LeVine, Susan Murray, Jackie Savitz,Amelia Vorpahl, Sara Young and Beckie Zisser.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BYCATCH, OR THE CATCH OFNON-TARGET FISH AND OCEANWILDLIFE, IS ONE OF THE LARGESTTHREATS TO MAINTAINING HEALTHYFISH POPULATIONS AND MARINEECOSYSTEMS AROUND THE WORLD.

According to some estimates, global bycatch may amount to 40 percent ofthe worlds catch, totaling 63 billion pounds per year. In the United States,despite strong management measures and conservation initiatives in someregions, bycatch remains a persistent problem for far too many sheries.Some sheries discard more sh at sea than what they bring to port, inaddition to injuring and killing thousands of whales, dolphins, seals, seaturtles and sharks each year.

While bycatch data is often outdated and inaccurate, researchers estimatethat 17-22 percent of U.S. catch is discarded every year, according to the bestavailable data. Bycatch in the U.S. could amount to 2 billion pounds everyyear, equivalent to the entire annual catch of many other shing nationsaround the world. One of the biggest concerns about bycatch is that theseverity of the problem in many regions and sheries still remains unknown.The National Marine Fisheries Service rarely reports comprehensive bycatchdata and in fact has not published a nationwide estimate using data morerecent than 2005and has no intention of updating its estimates until 2017.In short, bycatch harms ocean wildlife, wastes important food resources andundercuts the economic success of our nations sheries.

In this report, we have identied nine of the worst bycatch sheries in theU.S.sheries that discard large amounts of sh or harm marine wildlife ata high rate. Several of these sheries discard more sh than they keep, ordiscard large amounts of the very species they are aiming to catch. Solutionsto the bycatch problem already exist and must be applied nationwide. Inorder to stop harmful bycatch and wasteful discarding, sheries managersand shermen must employ adequate monitoring, count everything that iscaught, establish science-based bycatch limits, and use innovative measuresto control the problem.

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QUICK FACTSWHAT IS BYCATCH? Bycatch is the catch of non-target sh and ocean

wildlife, including what is brought to port and whatis discarded at sea. It is one of the most signicantthreats to maintaining healthy marine ecosystems.

U.S. BYCATCH Approximately 17-22 percent of what shermen

catch every year is discarded at sea, likely already deador dying. Some sheries discard more than what theybring to port.

Nine sheries in the U.S. are responsible for morethan half of all reported domestic bycatch, but onlybring in 7 percent of landings.

INJURY TO MARINE WILDLIFE Federal sheries managers authorize the killing of tens

of thousands of sea turtles each year by commercialsheries, primarily by Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawls.

In 2010, more than 3,400 dusky sharks were capturedas bycatch in just two bottom longline sheries in thesoutheast region of the U.Seven though it is illegal todeliberately catch them.

More than 300 pilot whales and almost 700 sea turtleswere entangled or killed in a single year in Atlantic andGulf of Mexico longlines.

LOOMING UNCERTAINTY Bycatch is not accurately estimated in three out of four

sheries in the U.S. due to monitoring levels being below

what is recommended by federal sheries managers.

SOLUTIONS AND PROGRESS Bycatch is not inevitable. There are ways to minimize

unintended injury and waste by using cleaner gear,avoiding areas where vulnerable species are known tobe present and enforcing bycatch limits each season.

Oceana has successfully advocated for bycatch limitsin some of the largest U.S. sheries, such as Chinooksalmon bycatch limits in the Alaska pollock shing eet,exemplifying a management strategy that should beimplemented nationwide.

CURRENT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION IS INADEQUATE

Loopholes exist in the implementation of existing laws,and less than one out of ve Fishery Management Plansinclude incentives for shermen to minimize bycatch.

RECOMMENDATIONS Fisheries managers must employ adequate monitoring

to accurately count everything that is caught, setscience-based limits on bycatch and ensure bycatch limitsare not exceeded. The shing industry can accomplishthis through cooperative bycatch avoidance programs,time-area management and using cleaner shing gear.

WHAT IS BYCATCH?Bycatch is the capture of non-target sh and ocean wildlife,including what is brought to port and what is discarded atsea, dead or dying. Bycatch is one of the biggest threats to theoceans and has contributed to overshing and the dramaticdecline of sh populations around the world. Commercialsheries bring in approximately 160 billion pounds of marinecatch around the world each year, 1 which means almost 400million pounds are caught every day. Recent estimates indicateas much as 40 percent of global catch is discarded overboard. 2,3

Anything can be bycatch: the dolphins that are encircled tobring you canned tuna, the sea turtles caught to bring youshrimp, the ounder thrown overboard to put seared scallopson the menu, the endangered whales migrating thousands ofmiles only to become entangled for the sake of lobster bisque,and the millions of pounds of halibut or cod that are wastedwhen shermen have already reached their quota. Much ofthis captured wildlife is treated as waste, thrown overboarddead or dying. This conservation problem must be solved toensure healthy oceans into the future.


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DEFINITIONSBYCATCH All incidental catch ofnon-target sh and ocean wildlife,often discarded at sea.

CATCH All sh that are caught,including targeted sh that are kept,non-targeted sh that are discarded,and non-target catch that shermenbring to port.

LANDINGS All sh that are broughtto port.

DISCARD RATE A common

metric to evaluate bycatch,calculated as the sherys totaldiscards divided by its total catch(e.g. , 1 pound discarded for every 5pounds caught = 1/5 = 20 percentdiscard rate).

PROTECTED SPECIES Speciesthat need special conservation and

management considerations such aswhales, dolphins, seals, sea turtles,seabirds and anything listed under theEndangered Species Act.

FISHERY A group of shermenor vessels targeting a given species(or group of sh) using certain typesof shing gear(s) in a given area.

FISHERY MANAGEMENTCOUNCIL An advisory bodycomprised of stakeholders fromindustry, government, academia andconservation groups established

by the Magnuson-Stevens Act toestablish management measuresin eight regions of the U.S.

FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN A document prepared by the NationalMarine Fisheries Service with advicefrom regional Councils containing

conservation and managementmeasures for sheries such as annual

catch limits, accountability measures,bycatch limits and gear requirements.

ANNUAL CATCH LIMIT The amounta shery is allowed to catch of a certainspecies every year to ensure that overallshing limits are not exceeded.

CATCH SHARE PROGRAM A shery management frameworkwhere individuals or groups ofshermen are allocated the rights to apercentage of the sherystotal annual catch.

OBSERVER An individual trainedto go onboard shing trips andobjectively document sheriescatch, location, discarding, bycatchcomposition and protected speciesentanglements.

BYCATCH IS ANUNDOCUMENTEDPROBLEMBycatch has been a persistent problem for decades,because it remains largely undocumented. As dened

above, bycatch includes not only entangled wildlife,but also discarded sh that could not be brought to portbecause they were the wrong size, poor quality, lowmarket value, or prohibited for conservation reasons. Inthe 2000s, sheries managers in the U.S. established strictcatch limits to end overshing and rebuild depleted shstocks. The success of these limits can be compromisedwhen target sh for one shery are discarded as bycatch ina different shery, like snapper being discarded by groupershermen in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

bottom longline shery. Similarly, if New England trawlshermen capture summer ounder but lack the permitto keep them, the sh are thrown overboard and wasted,and sometimes even go undocumentedwhich means arecreational angler is deprived of a shing opportunity.Discarding large quantities of sh can lead to overshing,prevent populations from recovering after decades ofoverexploitation, and disrupt the natural balance of marineecosystems. Indeed, some valuable overshed populationsare unable to recover because of persistent high levels

of bycatch.

Reducing bycatch is a solvable problem. Essential stepsinclude: documenting all catch (whether brought to portor discarded at sea), setting scientically based catchlimits for target and non-target species, and making everyeffort to actually avoid bycatch. Reducing bycatch willnot only save thousands of dolphins, whales, seals, seaturtles, sharks and seabirds, but will also help to rebuildovershed populations and maintain healthy ones.


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BYCATCH: A GLOBAL PROBLEMWorldwide, as many as four million shing vesselsbring in more than 160 billion pounds of sh every year,with estimates of as much as 40 percent (or 63 billionpounds) of global catch discarded. 3 Not only are millionsof pounds of sh thrown away every day, but scientistsestimate that as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins andseals were killed around the world each year throughoutthe 1990s as a result of bycatch. 4

Bycatch is such a persistent global problem in part

because many countries lack the capacity to accuratelymonitor and report catch. In 2005, less than half ofthe worlds shing records quantitatively documentedlandings and bycatch. 2 This problem is furthercompounded by illegal shing and inadequate lawenforcement. However, only 25 countries, including theU.S., are responsible for 75 percent of all global marinelandings. Reducing bycatch and discards in these countriesalone would yield vast improvements for sh populations,ocean health and long-term sheries management.

U.S. FISHERIESMANAGEMENTThe Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation andManagement Act (MSA) governs sheries managementin the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (up to 200 milesoffshore). The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)is the federal agency responsible for implementing thislaw and ensuring that sheries do not overexploit the

oceans shery resources. A federally permitted sherymust follow shing rules established by NMFS and theeight Regional Fishery Management Councils. Fishingrules must comply with U.S. law, but are often tailoredto local resources, economic factors or conservationinitiatives. This decentralized system has its benets,but can result in inconsistencies and loopholes.

WHALES, DOLPHINS AND SEALS WERE KILLED AROUND THE WORLD

EACH YEAR THROUGHOUT THE 1990s AS A RESULT OF BYCATCH


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BYCATCH OCCURS

EVERY DAY IN THE U.S.THE BEST AVAILABLE INFORMATION ISUNRELIABLE AND INCONSISTENTEstimating bycatch is extremely difficult for a varietyof reasons, including low levels of observer coverage,incomplete catch documentation, and the challenges ofgetting shery managers to release bycatch data in a timelyfashion. Therefore, few independent researchers haveattempted to comprehensively estimate bycatch, and theproblem gets little attention.

Because no comprehensive bycatch estimates existed in theearly 2000s, Oceana commissioned researchers to compileone of the rst nationwide bycatch estimates, resulting ina publication covering 27 sheries and estimating that 22percent of U.S. catch was discarded each year. 5 Because thedata was from 2002 or earlier, the report quickly drew criticismfrom the federal government, which then committed todevelop its own comprehensive estimates as a result.

Unfortunately, it was six years later, in 2011, before NMFSreleased the rst ever National Bycatch Report . Based onlandings and discard information dating back to 2005 orearlier, this report estimated that 17 percent of the nationscatch is discarded each year. 6 In 2014, NMFS published

an update to this report using 2010 data, 7 but failed toproduce an aggregate nationwide bycatch estimate ordiscard rate. In fact, the report only included data from

one-third of U.S. sheries that produce just more than halfof the nations wild-caught seafood.

Based on these reports, we conclude that 1722 percent ofthe sh caught in U.S. sheries are discarded before reachingport, likely amounting to 2 billion pounds every year.

NMFS MUST IMPROVE THE COLLECTION, ANALYSISAND DISSEMINATION OF BYCATCH INFORMATIONAlthough NMFS is the clearinghouse for sheries data,and therefore has an obligation to analyze and disseminatethe information in a standardized and timely manner,it usually fails to do so. Relying on outdated informationleads to inaccurate catch estimates, poor catch projections

for the future and awed decision-making. Fishingregulations change almost as often as the sh populationsthemselves, and failing to use the best availableinformation is a disservice to the public. The resilience ofshing communities could also be weakened if quotas areunnecessarily restrictive based on outdated information.

NMFS must release consistent, comprehensive nationwidebycatch estimates so that management and conservationdecisions can be based on the most recent and accurateinformation about environmental conditions, the number of shin a population and the overall impacts of shing mortality.

OF THE FISH CAUGHT IN U.S. FISHERIES ARE DISCARDED BEFORE

REACHING PORT, LIKELY AMOUNTING TO 2 BILLION POUNDS EVERY YEAR


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omi Blinick | Marine Photobank

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OF MARINE MAMMAL POPULATIONS IN THE U.S.

BYCATCH EXCEEDS MORTALITY LIMITS ESTABLISHED BY LAW FOR

INADEQUATE MONITORING LEADS TOINACCURATE ESTIMATESEstimating bycatch is challenging because federal, stateand regional shery managers do not often requireenough monitoring to know how many sh are caughtand subsequently discarded. Information gaps arise whencatch is not precisely reported or collected in a consistent,

standard way. For example, some sheries report thenumber of pounds that are caught, while others insteadreport the number of individual sh, making it difficult tocompare sheries or calculate the regional bycatch of acertain species. For example, were 20 1-pound juvenilesnappers discarded, or one adult 20-pound snapper? Thesequestions matter for modeling populations and makingmanagement decisions, and they require precise andconsistent reporting.

Collecting bycatch data is critical to effective sheriesmanagement. Trained individuals, known as observers, areoften assigned by NMFS to ride along on shing trips anddocument information about catch, shing location and

entanglements. Even though increasing observer coveragethroughout U.S. sheries has been a priority for decades,only half of the major U.S. sheries carry any observers atall, with coverage often being less than 1 percent of shingtrips. To accurately estimate bycatch on both observedand unobserved trips, sheries must have a minimum of 20percent coverage, with higher coverage (up to 100 percent)for sheries more likely to encounter rare or endangeredspecies or where observer data is used to enforce quotas. In2007, observer coverage in Atlantic bottom trawl and gillnetsheries was only a fraction of what NMFS recommendedto precisely calculate bycatch. 8 Only 4 percent of bycatch

estimates in the 2011 National Bycatch Report were derivedfrom what the federal government considers the highestquality data, according to several criteria. 6

One of the biggest problems with low and inconsistentobserver coverage is what is known as the observereffect, 9 where shermen actually sh in different

locations or underreport bycatch when observers are notonboard to monitor their activities. 10 The existence of thisphenomenon means that actual bycatch could easily bemuch higher than existing estimates suggest. 11 Employingmore extensive monitoring is one of the only ways toproduce accurate bycatch estimates. The need for accurateand precise bycatch data, and the signicant cost of at-seaobservers, highlights the importance of developing newtechnology and incentives to accurately report bycatch.

STANDARDIZED REPORTING IS ESSENTIALUnder the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), FisheryManagement Plans must detail how each shery collectsand reports bycatch information, following what is

known as a Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology(SBRM). However, very few sheries follow such aprotocol. In 2001, a federal court rst ordered the NewEngland groundsh shery to develop a standard approachto reporting bycatch. In 2004, and again in 2007, the NewEngland and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councilsestablished bycatch reporting protocols, but they did notinclude enough observers to accurately estimate bycatchin a range of sheries.

Review of the updated National Bycatch Report revealsthat only four out of hundreds of U.S. sheries are meeting


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Not Observed Observed for Bycatch

the recommended standards for the statistical accuracyand validity of their catch data, if they report data at all.For this reason, it is crucial that NMFS and the FisheryManagement Councils implement standardized bycatchreporting methodologies across all U.S. sheries. Any

credible, effective data collection program must befeasible on the water and generate accurate catchestimates. Unfortunately, the federal government hasnot met these requirements, and the shing mortalityof many species remains unknown.

Without standardized protocols, bycatch will continue to beunderreported.

PROTECTED SPECIES ARE EVEN MORE POORLYMONITOREDFor protected species such as whales, dolphins, seals, seaturtles and seabirds, the picture is even worse. Marinewildlife of all kinds becomes hooked, entangled, injuredor drowns during the course of shing activities. Someanimals are particularly vulnerable to certain types ofshing gear depending on what they eat, where they liveand how far they migrate. For example, sea lions andlarge whales often become entangled in gillnets, while seaturtles are most often captured by trawls and longlines.

Unfortunately, accurately estimating the magnitude ofthese entanglements and deaths is even more difficultthan estimating the rate of sh discarding, because thelikelihood of an observer being onboard to report theincident is lower. A scientic report recommended that

observer coverage must be at least 50 percent to accuratelyestimate marine mammal and sea turtle bycatch, 12 and forsome rare and endangered species, 100 percent coverage isnecessary. 13 These recommended levels are far higher thanthe 1-5 percent that is common among many sheries, ifthey are even observed at all.

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NMFS isrequired to publish assessments for all marine mammals,including information about shing mortality. In 2013, atleast one-third of these assessments relied on outdateddata and did not provide estimates of shing mortality, asrequired. Bycatch exceeds mortality limits established bylaw for 20 percent of the marine mammal populations inthe U.S. Even worse, human-related mortality is not evenestimated for one-third of marine mammal populations, asis also required by law.

Without enhanced monitoring for entanglement events,bycatch estimates for protected species will remain highlyuncertain and therefore ineffectively managed.

MANY FISHERIES ARE NOT OBSERVED FOR BYCA


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NOTABLE PROGRESS,BUT NO SOLUTIONWHERE HAVE WE BEEN AND WHERE AREWE GOING?Minimizing bycatch is required by law under theMagnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). Resource managersand the federal government have taken steps tominimize harmful shing practices in some sheries,but the current implementation of existing policies andregulations is inadequate to reduce bycatch. In somecases, regional Fishery Management Councils have takeninitiative and established voluntary measures to minimizebycatch, such as awarding higher quota to shermenwho participate in experimental gear projects or haveobservers onboard more often. However, fewer than 20percent of existing Fishery Management Plans includeincentives for shermen to minimize bycatch. Evenwhere they do exist, voluntary measures alone are notenough to eliminate harmful practices and cannot ensure

a future of responsible shing.COUNT: ALL CATCH MUST BE ACCOUNTED FORBycatch and targeted sh should all be counted as one unit:catch. When marine animals are taken from the ocean,everything should be counted, because every sh counts inmaintaining the balance of ecosystems. Almost two decadesago, scientists were calling for this very change - thatbycatch and catch comprise one combined quota, whereeverything removed from the ocean is counted equally. 14

In 2006, Congress amended the MSA to requiresheries to establish annual catch limits as well asaccountability measures to end overshing. NMFSrequired these limits and accountability measures forall sh stocks in a shery, but did not dene what itmeant for a species to be considered in a sheryand instead gave regional Councils the discretion todecide for themselves. Unfortunately, the Councilsand NMFS declared many un-managed sh as notin the shery even when they are commonlycaptured. This means there is no limit on the bycatchof many sh and invertebrates. If species do not have abycatch limit, sh and other species such as corals canbe discarded at rates high enough to harm populationsor alter entire ecosystems. This vagueness in the lawallows shermen and managers to look the other waywhen species such as ocean sunsh, perch, skates, crabsand other marine life are thrown back into the oceandead and wasted.

This off-the-books catch then goes largely undocumentedand unmanaged. Effective sheries management means

that shermen must be held accountable for all catch,both targeted species and bycatch. In 2010, Oceana suedthe federal government to compel NMFS to set annualcatch limits for all species caught across the sevenFishery Management Plans managed by the Mid-AtlanticFishery Management Council, not just the targeted catchin these sheries. The government has resisted, and thecourts continue to delay the decision. Fisheries managersmust require enough monitoring to accurately calculatetotal catch within a shery, including bycatch.

OF EXISTING FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLANS INCLUDE

LESS THAN

INCENTIVES FOR FISHERMEN TO MINIMIZE BYCATCH


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CAP: ESTABLISH BYCATCH LIMITS FOR ALLPROTECTED AND DEPLETED SPECIESPlacing a strict limit on the amount of sh that can becaught, whether landed or discarded, is essential toimproving the sustainability of U.S. sheries. The moststraightforward way to limit the bycatch of a species is toset a total catch limit, or cap, that cannot be exceeded. Forexample, the New England Fishery Management Councilhas established bycatch limits for groundsh caught in thedirected groundsh shery as well as the Atlantic herringand scallop sheries. The North Pacic Fishery Management

Council has also established salmon bycatch caps in severalgroundsh trawl sheries. Unfortunately, these case-by-casebycatch limits can take many years to establish, only exist ina small number of sheries around the country and still donot always have sufficient monitoring to determine whenthe limits are reached. Each regional Council should takean analytical approach to identify which sheries catch aparticular stock of sh and set limits on this bycatch. Oceanahas proposed this approach to the sheries managers inNew England 15 and the Mid-Atlantic regions 16 and continuesto work toward this goal around the country.

In the Alaska groundsh sheries, halibut and salmonare prohibited species that cannot be targeted or broughtto port, and they are managed with a bycatch limit intrawl sheries targeting pollock, sole, ounder and cod. Ifshermen exceed the bycatch limits, they risk prematurelyending their season. In 2012, the North Pacic FisheryManagement Council voted to reduce the halibut bycatchquota by 15 percent in the Gulf of Alaska trawl shery,bringing the limit to approximately 4 million pounds.However, implementing this change took two years,showing that progress is often slow.

While bycatch limits have been shown to effectivelyreduce the catch of specic species in particular sheries,they must be implemented more extensively throughoutthe U.S. Bycatch limits must be in place for sh specieslisted under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), suchas Pacic eulachon and Atlantic sturgeon. Additionally,since many species are caught in more than one shery,comprehensive bycatch limits should span all sheriesin a region, regardless of the species they target. Theseholistic bycatch limits are the best way to manage depletedspecies such as Atlantic cod, Atlantic wolffish, buttersh

and ounder. Bycatch limits are also essential for sh thatare critical links within the food web, such as herrings,sand lance and smelts. Once science-based limits areestablished, adequate monitoring must be employed toensure that limits are not exceeded.

Few Limits Exist For Sea Turtles And MarineMammal BycatchStrict limits are needed to control and minimize the catchof vulnerable marine mammals, sea turtles and seabirds,similar to those for sh. Many of these animals are listedas threatened or endangered under the ESA and thereforeneed strong protections against the harmful impactsof commercial and recreational shing to ensure theircontinued survival and ultimate recovery.

For example, sea turtle mortality in the Hawaii-basedpelagic longline shery is governed by such a bycatchlimit. North Pacic loggerheads are captured and killedin the shery, putting a species whose population hasdeclined by 5090 percent during the last 50 years at risk. 1

Unfortunately, despite compelling evidence of continueddecline, NMFS raised the bycatch limit in 2012, effectivelydoubling the number of sea turtles allowed to be killed.

As a result, conservation groups have sued to defend thelimits in court. NMFS must act according to the best andmost recent scientic evidence to protect sea turtles andensure their recovery.

More recently in 2013, NMFS set a bycatch limit of onesperm whale in the drift gillnet shery that targets swordshoff California, and the rules require 100 percent observercoverage for boats shing with drift gillnet gear in areasfrequented by sperm whales. Establishing scientic andenforceable bycatch limits like these, which require shingto stop for the remainder of the season if and when theselimits are reached, is essential for all marine wildlife.

Some Sharks Are Overshed Because Of BycatchSharks are top predators that play a crucial role inmaintaining healthy and balanced marine ecosystems. Yetthey are also extremely vulnerable to overexploitationand continue to be caught in large numbers in U.S. andinternational sheries. Fishermen captured 12 millionsharks and rays as bycatch each year throughout the 1990s


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in international waters alone. 18 Researchers recentlyestimated that as many as 100 million sharks are still caughtand killed each year around the world due to bycatch,illegal shing and the persistent demand for shark ns. 19 Prohibiting certain highly depleted shark species from beinglanded in the U.S. is one way to minimize bycatch mortality,because such prohibited species must be released back intothe water if they are still alive when caught.

Dusky SharksDusky shark populations off the Atlantic coast are estimatedto have plummeted by 98 percent during the last 40 years. 20 Although NMFS designated dusky sharks as prohibitedin 2000 (meaning the species cannot be targeted or broughtto port), shermen are still overshing this depletedpopulation and the number of deaths are still too high forthe population to begin to recover solely due to bycatch.In order to end overshing as required by law, NMFSproposed to close designated areas to pelagic longliningin the Atlantic. Despite strong support from conservationgroups and scientists alike, NMFS withdrew their proposalafter complaints from shermen.

Even when a species cannot be intentionally caught,separate measures must be in place to minimize bycatchacross different sheries and regions. In 2010, more than3,400 dusky sharks were captured as bycatch in just twobottom longline sheries in the south Atlantic and Gulf ofMexico. 7 To ensure sustainable sheries management andthe recovery of overshed sharks, NMFS must establishand adequately monitor bycatch limits that result in theend of the shing season if exceeded.

Scalloped Hammerhead SharksScalloped hammerheads are highly vulnerable toshing mortality based on their uniquely shaped andsensitive bodies. Approximately 90 percent of scallopedhammerheads die after being released from shing geareven when shermen follow safe handling protocols. 21 This high rate of post-release mortality shows thatsignicant numbers of these sharks die even after annualcatch quotas have been reached and that the species needsgreater protection. In 2011, NMFS officially announcedthat the scalloped hammerhead was overshed, almost 10years after researchers established that populations in thenorthwest Atlantic had been decimated by 90 percent. 22 In2013, scalloped hammerheads were recognized as needingspecial protections under the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species. However, NMFS not onlyfailed to list the U.S. populations under the ESA but alsocontinues to allow shermen to directly target them, witha quota exceeding 100,000 pounds in 2013. 23 This quotaaccounts for bycatch within the target shery, but doesnot include the thousands killed each year in trawls andbottom longlines in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Unfortunately, too many species of sharks are still caughtat an unsustainable rate, further depleting vulnerablepopulations and hindering recovery. Longline sheries catchsharks instead of the intended target at least 20 percentof the time, with some estimates as high as 50 percent forAtlantic and Hawaiian sheries. 24,25 The continued depletionof shark species in the U.S. and around the world highlightsthe importance of stronger regulations to minimize bycatch.

ARE KILLED AROUND THE WORLD EVERY YEAR

RESEARCHERS ESTIMATE AS MANY AS


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CONTROL: AVOID BYCATCH AND MINIMIZEMORTALITY

Use Turtle Excluder DevicesAll sea turtle species that swim in U.S. waters are listedas threatened or endangered under the ESA, and they areall often harmed during shing activities. Wherever seaturtles feed, rest and mate, they must also navigate thedangers of gillnets, longline hooks and especially trawlnets that scoop up everything in their path.

Although trawling is one of the most destructive,non-selective ways to sh, providing an escape for turtlesonce they are caught dramatically reduces the numbersthat drown in the end of the net. Turtle Excluder Devices(TEDs) provide this escape through an opening in the backof the net, and when installed correctly, may reduce seaturtle deaths by 97 percent. 26 However, requiring even sucha promising x has been laden with controversy. WhenTEDs were rst in use, researchers realized they were toosmall for many adult turtles to t through. In 2003, Oceanaand others persuaded NMFS to require larger TEDs so adultturtles could successfully escape shrimp nets.

Even though sea turtles are listed under the ESA, federalsheries managers continue to authorize shrimp trawlers inthe Gulf of Mexico to kill more than 50,000 sea turtles eachyear 27 under the presumption that all shermen complywith legal requirements. In 2011, Oceana released a reportrevealing that only 21 percent of shermen were usingTEDs correctly. 28 Shrimp shermen using skimmer trawlsin shallower waters are exempt from using TEDs under thepresumption that they will protect sea turtles from drowningby limiting the time their nets are towed through the water.

However, observer data revealed that only 35 percent ofshermen complied with required tow time limits in 2012,with one in ve tows exceeding 70 minutes, 29 far longer thanthe 55-minute limit and the amount of time sea turtles canhold their breath.

This evidence indicates that signicantly more sea turtlesthan previously thought have been dying each yearbecause NMFS does not have the capacity to monitor andenforce its own regulations. Despite this noncompliance,in 2013, NMFS withdrew a proposal to require TEDsin skimmer trawls in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastAtlantic, a decision that will likely lead to thousands ofsea turtle deaths for each year of inaction. 27 Because thereis only minimal observer coverage onboard these shrimptrawls, if any, it is impossible to know the real number ofsea turtles that are killed each year when TEDs are notused properly or trawls tow for longer than allowed.

Modify Destructive Gear Or Transition ToSelective GearsThe shing industry has had some success in improvingthe selectivity and efficiency of its catch by makingchanges to the gear they use. Fishermen have modiedthe shape and size of hooks, switched bait, changed thedepth of a net or attached deterrents onto gillnets, all withvaried success. Changes such as these can go a long waytoward minimizing bycatch. For example, transitioning tousing circle hooks and sh bait may have reduced bycatchof sea turtles, sharks and bluen tuna by approximately30 percent. 30 Additionally, in 2011, after years of Oceanaadvocacy, New England sea scallop shermen developeda new type of dredge that included deector panels and

HOW MANY IS 50,000? THAT IS ALMOST


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other components to minimize the number of sea turtlescaught and crushed by the heavy steel gear.

Even after modications to address specic bycatchconcerns, some shing gears still result in excessive levels ofbycatch. Instead of waiting for researchers to develop andtest small changes that might reduce bycatch, shermencan and should transition to alternative gears that havealready been proven to have fewer detrimental impacts.For example, in 2003, the California Fish and GameCommission banned the use of bottom trawls to catch spotprawns in southern California. This shery had previouslydiscarded 17 pounds of sh (many of them severely depletedrocksh) for every 1 pound they kept. 31 After the ruling,shermen transitioned to using traps instead, a move thatdramatically reduced bycatch and improved the marketvalue of the spot prawns they sell.

Every year that NMFS does not encourage and facilitatethese gear transitions is a waste of precious time and oceanresources. For example, traps and pots could be used tocatch cod rather than bottom trawls, and harpoons could beused to catch swordsh instead of drift gillnets. Green stick

gear, a newer method of shing for tuna, involves towingshing lines through the water rather than setting milesof longlines out to soak. This method allows shermen to

retrieve the catch much more quickly and has signicantlyless bycatch.

Use Innovative And Adaptive Management To Avoid And Reduce BycatchBycatch limits show great potential for eliminating harmfulshing when combined with other management andtechnological solutions. Where bycatch limits have beenestablished, shermen are motivated to reduce their bycatchin order to keep shing. In what is called a catch shareprogram, individual shermen can be allocated a portionof the sherys annual quota and can also receive a portionof the bycatch quota. Under this framework, shermen areheld accountable for their own bycatch and can use theirknowledge and experience to avoid hotspots and minimizetheir impact. However, such a system requires extensivemonitoring to ensure these limits are not exceeded.Another tactic employed largely in Alaska, termedBycatch Avoidance, involves shing during specictimes of day, in certain water depths, or in geographic

Projecto Tamar Brazil | Marine Photobank


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areas where bycatch is less likely to occur. This tactic canminimize bycatch and maximize shing opportunities.For example, pollock trawl companies have implementedan electronic monitoring system using real-time reportingfrom other shermen in a cooperative effort to avoidbycatch hotspots. In order to comply with bycatchlimits, Alaska trawl shermen report where and whenthey encounter the most salmon each day so that theinformation can be circulated to the entire eet and otherscan avoid these hotspots. 32 This approach keeps the eetshing longer and saves salmon, representing hundredsof thousands of dollars in economic value. These sherieshave also experimented with the use of oceanographicindicators to avoid hotspots entirely and have found thatocean temperature may be useful in predicting when andwhere salmon will likely gather. 33

This type of real-time monitoring has yet to beimplemented in most sheries across the U.S., thoughothers are beginning to catch on. In 2013, New Englandscallop shermen, in conjunction with the Universityof Massachusetts, developed a similar technique toavoid catching yellowtail ounder, which dramaticallyreduced bycatch and allowed the eet to maintain access

to lucrative shing grounds. Fishermen report bycatchthrough the program, which in turn disseminates nearreal-time information so the entire eet can avoid bycatchhotspots.

In addition to using real-time reporting, bycatch can alsobe minimized by implementing shing restrictions thatapply only to specic areas or seasons during the year.This concept, known as Time and Area Management,is often based on the seasonal behaviors of protectedspecies and other marine wildlife. Time and area closurescan be designed to ensure that the shery stays below anestablished bycatch limit, thereby giving depleted speciesa chance to rebuild, minimizing the capture of younganimals or adults preparing to spawn, and protectingvaluable seaoor habitat.

Seasonal and spatial management measures have provensuccessful in many situations and this tool should bemore widely adopted. For example, in the Gulf of Mexicoand Atlantic regions, sea turtle, bluen tuna and marinemammal bycatch could be reduced if sheries wereseasonally restricted based on known mating, foraging andmigratory patterns of common bycatch species.

GULF SHRIMP TRAWLFISHERMEN HAVE

SOME OF THE HIGHESTDISCARD RATES OF ALLU.S. FISHERIES

S.McGowan | AMC 2008/Marine


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REDUCING HARMFULAND WASTEFUL

FISHING IN THE USNINE OF THE WORST BYCATCH FISHERIESIn order to eliminate harmful and wasteful shingpractices, sheries managers must develop regulationsand national policies to count, cap and control bycatch.However, sometimes it can be difficult to determinewhich sheries and bycatch problems are the mostpressing and therefore warrant immediate attention.Oceana has identied nine sheries that have some ofthe worst bycatch in the U.S., based on the amount andrate of discarded sh, the number of protected speciesthat are harmed, and other criteria as described furtherbelow. Not only do these nine sheries injure and killthousands of protected and endangered species everyyear, but they are responsible for more than 50 percentof reported bycatch in the U.S., and yet bring in just 7percent of U.S. landings.

Because bycatch takes on many different forms andoccurs across diverse sheries, it is important to evaluateits severity using several criteria, as a single criterionalone does not tell the whole story. For example, a sherymay have a low discard rate, but it might still be harmingprotected species, depleting long-lived populations,irreversibly altering the food web, or throwing awaystaggering amounts of sh. Criteria used to evaluatesheries in this report included:

How many pounds are discarded? What is the relative rate at which sh are discarded

compared to how many are kept? How many protected species are entangled or killed? What types of sh are discarded (high market value,

prohibited, overshed, etc.)? What are the ecosystem-level impacts of bycatch?

As mentioned above, many bycatch statistics are highlyuncertain and often outdated, but we have used the bestpublicly available data. In this report, we compiled andassessed data from the 2014 National Bycatch Report 7 because it facilitates comparative analysis betweensheries and notes the composition of bycatch species,unlike many other stand-alone government or Councilreports. Where more recent information was available,comparisons showed that entanglement and discardinghave not signicantly changed over time in the worstbycatch sheries.

GLOBAL DISCARDS

BY GEAR TYPE

TRAWLS: 78 %

LONGLINES: 13 %

GILLNETS: 1%

OTHER: 8%

Bottom trawls account for 50 percentof global marine shery production butalmost 80 percent of global discards, themajority coming from just 19 trawl eets.

Shrimp trawlers in Indonesia, Australia,and Trinidad were discarding 10-15pounds of sh for every 1 pound of shrimpthey kept in the early 1990s.

More recently in the early 2000s, shrimptrawls in the Mediterranean Sea were stilldiscarding approximately 6 pounds of shfor every pound of shrimp they kept.


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Identifying the worst bycatch sheries is essential forguiding conservation and management priorities. Inaddition to quantitative data, our analysis also reliedon personal communications with shermen and bestprofessional judgment because (1) not all criteria couldbe evaluated across all sheries due to information gaps,(2) not all criteria could be evaluated equally across allsheries because each shery has a unique target catch,gear type and region, and (3) each of the criteria could beweighted differently depending on priority issues.

NINE DIRTY FISHERIES:HARMFUL GEARSThough some shing methods are more harmful thanothers, researchers, sheries managers and conservationistsall agree that bycatch is highest in trawl, longline andgillnet sheries. 34 The nine sheries that account for morethan half of the nations reported bycatch all use theseharmful gear types, as described below.

TRAWL FISHERIES: BULLDOZING THE OCEANS

Trawling is one of the most harmful methods of shingbecause enormous nets are dragged across the seaoor orthrough the water and capture almost everything in theirpath, while damaging vulnerable habitat. Shrimp trawls,

not even among the largest, can be 160 feet wide, which isapproximately the same width as a football eld. 35 And itis not just the industrial-sized trawls that are a problem.Every year, trawls drag nets over an average of six millionsquare miles, impacting an area equivalent to twice thesize of the entire U.S. 36 In the U.S., trawlers targetingsole in the Gulf of Alaska discarded more than half oftheir catch, 6 and trawlers in the Gulf of Mexico havediscarded as much as 4-10 pounds of bycatch per 1 poundof marketable shrimp they bring to port. 5, 6

Most sh that are targeted by trawls can be shed usingother, more selective methods.

LONGLINE FISHERIES: THOUSANDS OF HOOKSLongline shermen use lines that can extend for up to50 miles, with thousands of baited hooks branching offfrom the main line. 37 Longlines can be used either alongthe seaoor to catch cod, rocksh, groupers and otheratsh, or in open water to catch larger sh such astuna, swordsh and sharks. Unfortunately, the baitedhooks that can be left to soak attract a vast array ofspecies that are not intentionally targeted by shermen,including diving birds. If an animal becomes hooked, it

is often seriously injured or dead by the time the gearis retrieved. In the U.S., there are 20 different longlinesheries, with many discarding more sh than they keep.If the 94 vessels targeting migratory sh in the Atlantic

Illustrations Sylvia Liu

TRAWLS LONGLINES


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and Gulf of Mexico stretched out their 45-mile longlines,the combined length would stretch from Miami to London,which does not even include the branching lines thatactually attach to the hooks.

Using harpoons, handlines, greenstick or buoy gear insteadof longlines is proven to reduce bycatch and improve shingefficiency.

GILLNET FISHERIES: WALLS OF DEATH

Gillnets are walls of netting drifting (drift gillnets) oranchored (set gillnets) in the water, designed so that shget stuck around their gills when they try to swim through.The netting can be up to two miles long and anchored

hundreds of feet deep or left oating at the surface. 38,39 Drift gillnets more than one mile long are so harmful tothe marine environment that they have been banned onthe high seas by the United Nations and by many othercountries. In the U.S., only six states have fully banneddrift and set gillnets within state waters. Despite thesebans and closures, 38 U.S. sheries still use drift or setgillnets. 40

Though researchers work to develop ways of helping marine

wildlife to avoid becoming entangled in gillnets, this gearshould be banned.

Snapper-grouper longline

California set gillnet +

Southeast shrimp trawl

California drift gillnet +

Gulf of Alaska flatfish trawl

Northeast bottom trawl

Mid-Atlantic bottom trawl

Atlantic HMS longline

New England/Mid-Atlantic gillnet

Snapper, grouper

Halibut

Brown, pink, white shrimp

Swordfish, thresher sharks

Flounder, sole

Groundfish, whiting

Scup, flounder, sea bass

Swordfish, tuna

Monkfish, groundfish, skates

FISHERY TARGET FISH

66%*

65%*

64%

63%*

35%

35%

33%

23%

16%

WORST IN FISH DISCARDS

Table 1. Nine of the worst bycatch sheries in the U.S., with discard rates based on the 2014 NMFSNational Bycatch Report unless otherwise noted. Thediscard rate for sheries with multiple sectors or gear types represent averages. *Discard rate was calculated from number of individual sh as opposed toweight.+Bycatch estimates for the two Pacic sheries were derived from recent observer data.

GILLNETS


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NINE OF THEDIRTIEST US

FISHERIES

SOUTHEAST SHRIMP TRAWL FISHE

Thousands of turtles are killed annually

For every pound of shrimp landed, 1 pound of billsh is discarded

64 %DISCARDED

GULF OF ALASKA FLATFISH TRAWL

More than 34 million pounds of sh are thrown overboard in one year, includin2 million pounds of halibut and 5 million pounds of cod

35 %DISCARDED

CALIFORNIA SETGILLNET FISHERY

More than 30,000 sharks andrays as well as valuable sh werediscarded as waste over three years

DISCARDED

65%

CALIFORNIA DRIFTGILLNET FISHERY

Almost 550 marine mammals wereentangled or killed over ve years

63 %DISCARDED


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NORTHEAST BOTTOMTRAWL FISHERY

More than 50 million pounds of share thrown overboard every year35

%DISCARDED

More than 75 percent of the wasted sh are highlyvaluable tuna, swordsh and other billsh

DISCARDED23 %

ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORSPECIES LONGLINE FISHERY

NEW ENGLAND & MID-ATLGILLNET FISHERY

More than 1,200 endangered sturgeon were capturedin one year

More than 2,000 dolphins, porpoises and seals werecaptured in one year

16 %DISCARDED

MID-ATLANTIC BOTTOM TRAWL FISH

Almost 200 marine mammals and 350 sea turtles were captured or killed in one

33 %DISCARDED

SOUTHEAST SNAPPER-GROUPER LONGLINE FISHERY

More than 400,000 sharks werecaptured and discarded in one year

66 %DISCARDEDNumbers in yellow represent the percent of total catch discarded.

Data compiled from the 2014 NMFS National Bycatch Report

otherwise noted. Bycatch estimates for the two Pacic sheriesderived from recent observer data. See full report for complete


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SOUTHEASTSNAPPER-GROUPERLONGLINE FISHERYApproximately 1,000 shermen in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic catchsnappers and groupers using bottom longline gear. Very little is known aboutcatch and bycatch in this shery, and observer coverage remains at less than 1percent of shing effort. What is known is that the shery discarded more than400,000 sharks in 2010, many of which may not have survived after being releasedfrom hooks. Seven out of the eight targeted species in this shery are still beingovershed in the South Atlantic, and bycatch estimates remain unknown.

VESSELS: Approx. 1,00041

OBSERVER COVERAGE: 1%41

DISCARDS: 850,000 sh 7 (66% of total catch)SEA TURTLES: No comprehensive estimate, but likely signicant mortalitiesOVERFISHING is still occurring with many stocks still unassessedVALUE OF FISHERY: $13.8 million41

PROBLEMSScattered shermen on smallervessels are difcult to monitor.

Bottom longlines catch signicnumbers of small snappers andgroupers that are too young to sbut are killed when brought to tsurface.

Although the abundance andshing mortality of most targetesh remain unknown, overshinlikely continues.

Recreational shermen havesignicant impacts on populatioyet data collection requirementsare inadequate.

SOLUTIONSImplement a ban on discarding that encourages quota-sharing,and shing in times and placeswhere fewer juvenile snappers,groupers and other nsh woullikely be caught.

Avoid catching sea turtles, sharand juvenile sh by reportingbycatch hotspots in real-time andisseminating this informationacross the eet for effectivetime-area management.

Improve stock assessments sothat all shing mortality can becompared to known abundanceand ecological characteristics osnapper and grouper populationto ensure that overshing due tobycatch does not occur.

6 , 4 0 0

, 0 0 0 L B S D I S C A R D E D

Y E A R L Y N U M B E R S

66 %DISCARDED

SHARKS

GROUPERS

BILLFISH

OTHER

SWORDFISH

REEF FISH

SPECIESDISCARDED


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CALIFORNIA SETGILLNET FISHERYOff the coast of southern California, shermen use anchored or set gillnetsto target California halibut, angel shark and white sea bass. These bottom-setgillnets entangle and kill thousands of marine mammals, sharks and turtles everyyear. In 1994, gillnets were banned in nearshore waters off Southern California, yetthey are still allowed in federal waters. In 2002, this shery captured and killed somany harbor porpoises around Monterey Bay that using set gillnets was prohibitedin nearshore waters less than 360 feet deep, effectively eliminating the shery incentral California. This shery is the primary known threat to the dangerouslylow population of great white sharks off the U.S. Pacic coast. Recently, shermenvoluntarily reported 94 captured white shark pups during a ve-year period, almosthalf of which were already dead. 42 Fishing occurs year-round, though the primaryseason is during the summer months, when many newborn marine mammals andsharks are just learning to navigate the threats of their marine environment.

VESSELS: 4243

During 3 years (2007, 2010 and 2011), the shery discarded anestimated 65% of all animals caught, including:44

470 seals and sea lions and 241 seabirds More than 12,000 sharks and rays and 18,000 other vulnerable sh

OBSERVER COVERAGE: 1218% 43

VALUE OF FISHERY: $450 thousand45

PROBLEMSThe shery catches signicantnumbers of depleted, long-livedsh like giant sea bass as wellas a wide array of vulnerablesharks and rays.

There are too few sheriesobservers to accuratelyestimate this unabated bycatch.

Gillnets are so harmfulthat they have been bannedin certain areas of California stawaters, though they continue tobe used offshore in SouthernCalifornia.

The shery occurs in the heartof a primary nursery ground forgreat white sharks and manyother shark species.46

There are no bycatch caps inplace for any species caught inthis shery.

SOLUTIONSEstablish and enforcecatch and bycatch limits forall species that are capturedin these gillnets, starting withgreat white sharks.

Allocate sufcient observersto accurately and preciselyestimate bycatch.

Convert additional effort to hooand line gears that are shownto catch target species withsubstantially lower bycatch.

Prohibit set gillnets fromoperating in times and areaswhere marine mammals, greatwhite sharks, seabirds and othersensitive marine life are present

Establish maximum soak timesreduce the mortalityof animals caught in gillnets.

Designate great white sharksas endangered or threatenedunder the EndangeredSpecies Act.

4 9 , 3 0 0 F I S H D I S C A R D E D


65 %DISCARDED

RAY & SKATE

OTHER

PACIFICMACKEREL

CRAB

HALIBUT

SHARK

ECHINODERMFLATFISH

ROCKFISH

SEA BASS

SPECIESDISCARDED


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CALIFORNIA DRIFTGILLNET FISHERYOff the coast of California, shermen use drift gillnets to catch swordsh andthresher sharks. Nets extending a mile in length are left out overnight to driftand catch large oceanic sh. When the large nets are hauled back the next morning,a wide array of amazing sea creatures are tangled in the nets. Air-breathers suchas sea turtles and marine mammals usually drown or are so entangled that theybecome fatally injured. In 2010, an estimated 49 dolphins and 16 endangered spermwhales were seriously injured and killed in this shery. Worst of all, these numberscould be underestimates because observers cover less than 20 percent of the totalshing effort and almost half the boats are never observed at all. During the past veyears, Oceana helped stop multiple proposals to allow driftnets into closed areasestablished to protect leatherback sea turtles and compelled the National MarineFisheries Service to implement emergency regulations, including a strict bycatchlimit of one sperm whale.

VESSELS: 1648

Over ve years (2008-2012) the shery discarded 63% of all animals caught, including:44

More than 39,000 common molas and hundreds of billsh More than 6,000 sharks (45% of all caught) 290 dolphins, 237 seals and sea lions and 21 whales

8 leatherback sea turtlesOBSERVER COVERAGE: Approx. 15%48

VALUE OF FISHERY: $1.1 million48

PROBLEMSDrift gillnets entangle and killdozens of marine species that

journey to the California Currefrom across the Pacic, includindolphins, whales, sea lions, shaand sea turtles.

There are too few sheriesobservers to accurately estimatethis unabated bycatch.

In the last ve years, driftgillnets have entangled humpbawhales, gray whales, minkewhales, sperm whales andhundreds of dolphins, sealsand sea lions. On average, thisshery kills more than 100 marmammals per year.

SOLUTIONSImmediately start phasing out thuse of drift gillnets.

Replace gillnets with cleaner gesuch as harpoons, which havezero bycatch, and also considerother, more selective alternative

Until drift gillnets are phased ouinstitute hard bycatch caps on acaptured marine life and enforcit through 100 percent observercoverage.

5 5 0 M A R I N E

M A M M A L S C A P T U R E D


63 %DISCARDED

COMMON DOLPHIN

WHITE-SIDEDDOLPHIN

SEALS AND SEA LIONS

RIGHT WHALEDOLPHIN

OTHER DOLPHINS

WHALESUNIDENTIFIED

SPECIESDISCARDED


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NORTHEAST BOTTOMTRAWL FISHERYSome of the most iconic Atlantic sh are caught using bottom trawls in NewEngland waters. Each year, shermen sail to the Gulf of Maine and GeorgesBank to catch Atlantic halibut, haddock, cod, yellowtail ounder, whiting andother sh. However, many of these important sh have declined signicantly inrecent decades due to years of unabated overshing and ineffective management,requiring the National Marine Fisheries Service to reduce shing quotas inhopes that the stocks will begin to rebound. Some overshed and depletedspecies are completely prohibited from being brought to port and sold, such asAtlantic wolffish. This prohibition means that shermen must throw them backoverboard if they are caught as bycatchoften dead and sometimes uncounted.Common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, harbor porpoises, harbor seals, pilotwhales and gray seals have all been captured in large numbers by New Englandbottom trawls.

VESSELS: 80049

DISCARDS: 50 million lbs. (35% of total catch)7

MARINE MAMMALS: 180 mortalities7


33% of targeted species are overshed 51

VALUE OF FISHERY: $90 million52

PROBLEMSTrawls are so large andindiscriminate that shermencannot selectively target healthispecies while avoiding thedepleted ones.

Oceana has worked to increaseobserver coverage in NewEngland to 22 percent in 2013,still far below levels recommenby the best available science.

Too many sea turtles are injuredand killed because bycatchis assessed in each sheryseparately without acknowledgithe total number that are caughtacross all combined sheries ingiven region.

Shrinking quotas encourage andeven require many marketable to be discarded instead of beingbrought to port, an approach thadoes not conserve sh or beneshermen.

Millions of skates are treatedas trash and discarded at suchhigh catch levels that it will likechange the population and theecosystem.

SOLUTIONSAllocate sufcient observers toaccurately and precisely estimabycatch for each species.

Develop initiatives and incentivto reduce bycatch, includingspatial management and gearmodications.

Conserve habitat for juvenile sto bolster the recovery of deplestocks and minimize bycatch.

Ensure adequate observercoverage to enforce in-seasonmanagement measures.

Implement a pilot programthat uses video monitoring toenforce requirements to retain amarketable sh.

5 0 , 0

0 0 , 0

0 0 L B S D I S C A R D E D


35 %DISCARDED

SKATEDOGFISH

MONKFISH

FLOUNDER

COD

HAKE

OTHER

SPECIESDISCARDED


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GULF OF ALASKAFLATFISH TRAWLFISHERYI n the Gulf of Alaska, a few dozen bottom trawl vessels discard more than the restof the sheries in the region combined. Flatsh bottom trawling in the Gulf ofAlaska results in high bycatch as trawlers attempt to catch high volumes of relativelylow-value atsh amongst a diverse sh and invertebrate community on the seaoor.Many of the discarded bycatch species are perfectly edible, and some are even quitevaluable. Species such as sharks, skates, cod, rocksh, other atsh, crabs, salmon andhalibut are all wasted as bycatch in this shery. This shery is a proposed candidatefor a future catch share program, and it is important that the high bycatch does notbecome enshrined in shery management.

VESSELS: 4153

DISCARDS: 34 million lbs. (35% of catch)7

HALIBUT: 2 million lbs. wasted7

COD: 5 million lbs. wasted7



VALUE OF DISCARDS: $17.7 million56

PROBLEMSObserver coverage is inadequatfor generating accurate bycatchestimates.

Nonselective trawls catcheverything in their paths anddestroy sensitive habitat.

Catch limits do not account forthe sh needed to support otheranimals in the food web.

Trawls kill commercially valuabdepleted species that areprohibited from being landed.

SOLUTIONSEstablish precautionary bycatchcaps for all species captured inthe shery, not just the ones thaare being targeted.

Continue improving utilization captured arrowtooth ounder another historically less marketabspecies.

Implement a system to reportbycatch hotspots in real-timeand disseminate this informatioacross the eet for effective timarea management.

Increase observer coverage inorder to accurately estimatebycatch. 3

4 , 5 7 2

, 0 0 0 L B S D I S C A R D E D


35 %DISCARDED

ARROWTOOTHFLOUNDER

OTHER

SKATES

GRENADIERS

HALIBUT

COD

POLLOCK

SOLE

FLATFISH SPECIESDISCARDED


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MID-ATLANTICBOTTOM TRAWLFISHERY

In the Mid-Atlantic, shermen use bottom trawls to catch summer ounder, scupand black sea bass as well as dogsh and skates. These sh live along the seaoor,

and trawls damage the bottom habitat in order to catch them. Although it is oftenassumed that the seaoor of the Mid-Atlantic region is barren, there is growingrecognition that the region has diverse seaoor communities including hardbottom, coral gardens, canyons and rare clay outcroppings that provide burrowsfor tilesh. This important seaoor provides an essential nursery for the very sameeconomically important sh that are caught along the Atlantic coastline. Commondolphins, bottlenose dolphins, harbor porpoises, pilot whales, harbor seals, grayseals and sea turtles have all been captured in large numbers by Mid-Atlanticbottom trawls.

VESSELS: 9557

DISCARDS: 9.4 million lbs. (33% of total catch)7

MARINE MAMMALS: 145 mortalities7

SEA TURTLES: 350 mortalities7

OBSERVER COVERAGE: 13% 58 DISCARD OF TARGET SPECIES: 1.2 million lbs.

VALUE OF FISHERY: $30.6 million57

PROBLEMSTrawls are so large andindiscriminate that shermencannot selectively target healthispecies while avoiding thedepleted ones.

Observer coverage has neverbeen higher than 3 percent,leading to inaccurate bycatchestimates.

Too many sea turtles are injuredand killed because sheriesassess bycatch in each singleshery without counting howmany are caught by all sheriesthe region.

Millions of skates are discardedat such high levels that it willlikely change the population anecosystem.

SOLUTIONSAllocate sufcient observers toaccurately and precisely estimabycatch for each species andrequire video monitoring tosupplement onboard observerswhere appropriate.

Establish a bycatch limit for seaturtles and all other speciesbased on the best-availablescientic information.

Promote the conservationof deep sea coral habitat tominimize bycatch and protect nurseries.

Monitor and report sea turtlemortality across all regionalsheries to ensure that thebycatch limit is not exceeded.

Require the use of TurtleExcluder Devices in these trawlin times and areas where seaturtles are known to be present prevent unnecessary mortality.

Establish regional sea turtlebycatch limits that, if exceeded,result in shery closures.

9 , 4 0 0

, 0 0 0 L B S D I S C A R D E D


33 %DISCARDED

SKATE

SCUP

OTHER

DOGFISH

SEA BASSFLOUNDER

SCALLOPS

SPECIESDISCARDED


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ATLANTIC HIGHLYMIGRATORY SPECIESLONGLINE FISHERY

In the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast, shermen use longlines to catchsharks, tuna and swordsh that are known as highly migratory species. In 2011, 30

percent of the sh that were captured on the hooks were discarded, 59 which includedhundreds of thousands of pounds of valuable bluen tuna, swordsh and sharks. Whendiscarded dead, these important sh can no longer add to recovering populations orfulll their important ecological roles as top predators. Even though the number ofparticipants in this shery has shrunk by 50 percent from more than 200 throughout the2000s, and measures have been implemented to reduce sea turtle and marine mammalinjuries, bycatch levels nearly reached record high levels in 2011, with more than 300pilot whales entangled or killed. More than two-thirds of captured bluen tuna werediscarded in 2011, amounting to more than 750 sh. 58 Despite legal action and repeatedpetitions, shermen have likely exceeded the number of allowed sea turtle injuries andmortalities since 2004, and the government continues to stall on completing the requiredenvironmental review and solving the problem.

VESSELS: 9460

DISCARDS: 1.2 million lbs. (23% of total catch)7

MARINE MAMMALS:450 interactions, including 300 pilot whales61

SEA TURTLES: More than 675 mortalities61


DISCARD OF TARGET SPECIES: 1 million lbs.VALUE OF FISHERY:

$52 million59

PROBLEMSLongline shermen discardhundreds of thousands of thesame sh and sharks that theytarget because the animals aretoo small or the shermen exceannual quotas.

The number of sea turtles thatare injured and killed every yeahas likely exceeded the legallyauthorized number since 2004.

Hundreds of marine mammalsare caught and killed everyyear because no precautionarymeasures are in place.

Tens of thousands of poundsof blue and white marlin arediscarded every year, twovaluable species important for

recreational shermen that havebeen prohibited and remainovershed due to bycatch.

SOLUTIONSTransition to cleaner, moreselective shing methods such agreenstick and buoy gear.

Avoid catching threatened andendangered sea turtles, marinemammals and valuable sh by

reporting bycatch hotspots inreal-time and disseminating thisinformation across the eet.

Close areas in the Gulf of Mexiand South Atlantic to surfacelonglining to protect spawningbluen tuna and foraging seaturtles.

Use electronic monitoring tosupplement onboard observersto derive accurate and precisebycatch estimates that include

sea turtles, sharks and valuablesh that are discarded or injured

1 , 2 0 0 , 3 0 0 L B S D I S C A R D E D


23 %DISCARDED

BLUE SHARKSWORDFISH

BLUEFIN TUNA

COASTAL SHARKS

BLUE MARLIN

OTHERBILLFISH

YELLOWFINTUNA SPECIESDISCARDED


36/44

NEW ENGLANDAND MID-ATLANTICGILLNET FISHERY

Off the coast of New England and the Mid-Atlantic, more than 2,000

shermen target monksh and groundsh like cod and haddock usingdrift and sink gillnets that also entrap marine mammals, sea turtles andsturgeon. These gillnet shermen discard more than 16 percent of whatthey catch, including more than 3 million pounds of dogsh and almosthalf a million pounds of the monksh they target. Although the numberof participants in this shery has grown ten-fold in the last two decades,observer coverage has not grown with the shery. An average of more than1,200 endangered sturgeon were captured as bycatch each year from 2006-2010, and as many as 750 dolphins and porpoises were captured in thesegillnets each year throughout the early 2000s. The full extent of sea turtlebycatch remains unknown.

FISHERMEN: 2,140 62

DISCARDS: 7 million lbs. (16% of total catch)7

MARINE MAMMALS: 2,400 mortalities7

SEA TURTLES: 350 mortalities7

STURGEON: More than 1,200 mortalities63

OBSERVER COVERAGE: Less than 5%64


PROBLEMSGillnets have been deemedtoo harmful to use by manystates and have been bannedon the high seas, yet many U.S.shermen are still permitted touse them even though bettermethods are available.

Some gillnets are not removedfrom the water for long periodsof time, leading to signicantbycatch.

Fishermen discard the same shthey are targeting if they are toosmall or if the catch has rottedfrom staying in the water toolong.

Observer coverage remainsinsufcient to accurately estimabycatch.

Anecdotal information suggeststhat sea turtle bycatch is high,but no ofcial estimates existbecause of low observercoverage.

SOLUTIONSLimit the amount of time gillnecan remain in the water beforebeing retrieved.

Restrict where gillnets canbe set to avoid shing whenmarine mammals, sea turtles ansturgeon are most likely to be inthe area.

Allocate sufcient observers toaccurately and precisely estimabycatch for each species,including sea turtles, marinemammals, skates, sturgeon andother commonly discarded sh.

Ensure that all of the nets areretrieved and evaluated when anobserver is present rather than

just small portions.

Examine the feasibility of usingvideo monitoring to enforceregulations requiring full retentand better catch accounting.

7 , 0 6 5

, 0 0 0 L B S D I S C A R D E D


16 %DISCARDED

SKATES

DOGFISH

MONKFISH

FLATFISH

OTHERCOD

SPECIESDISCARDED


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NATIONAL POLICIES TOMINIMIZE BYCATCHFor more than a decade, Oceana has advocated to reducebycatch and bycatch mortality in the U.S. Oceana worksshery-by-shery, as well as at the national level, topromote the Oceana Approach to bycatch: count all catch(including bycatch), cap bycatch using science-basedlimits, and control bycatch through effective managementmeasures that will ensure bycatch limits are not exceededand that bycatch is reduced over time.

COUNTSustainable sheries management requires accountingfor all species that are killed by a shery, whether landedor discarded. Transparent catch accounting and robustestimates of discard mortality (the portion of discarded

catch that does not survive after release) are essential foreffective sheries management.

To understand the full scope of bycatch, sheriesmanagers and the public must have access to recent,accurate and precise reports of catch in every shery. TheMSA requires that every shery establish a StandardizedBycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) to collect,process, analyze and publish this information to identifyand assess bycatch problems. A fully established SBRMshould require all vessels to monitor catch to provideaccurate bycatch estimates, require that the shing

industry assume responsibility for funding monitoringcosts, and make all catch information available to thepublic in a timely manner.

CAPFisheries managers are required to set scienticallybased annual catch limits in all U.S. sheries, but oftennon-target species caught as bycatch are ignored. Fisheriesmanagers and stakeholders should evaluate the catch ofeach shery to identify bycatch interactions that requireattention based on population status, managementobjectives for the species, bycatch mortality and theecological roles of each species. If regional shermen arediscarding other shermens targeted species, that bycatchmust be accounted for when establishing and allocatingquotas in the directed shery. When bycatch reaches theestablished limit, either the area should be closed for theseason or the quota should be reduced by the exceededamount in future shing years.

CONTROLEstablishing bycatch caps is a notable step in managingbycatch, but it is not enough to reduce bycatch. To reducebycatch in U.S. sheries, Oceana supports the followingmeasures as effective means to implement and maximizethe conservation benets of bycatch caps:

Avoid Bycatch: Fisheries should develop catchmonitoring programs that identify and disseminateinformation about bycatch hotspots across the eet.The shing industry and their academic partners have

THAT ARE KILLED BY A FISHERY, WHETHER LANDED OR DISCARDED

SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT REQUIRES


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developed such systems that enable them to stay within

the established limits and are particularly effective whenthere are requirements or incentives to participate. Theseprograms can be even more effective when exceedingbycatch limits results in seasonal closures.

Adjust and Improve Bycatch Caps: Bycatch capsmust be set using the best available science, like annualcatch limits. Currently, bycatch caps are not always setas low as they should be in the limited sheries wherethey do exist. Therefore, bycatch limits must be regularlyevaluated and adjusted based on the best availableinformation. Ideally, bycatch caps should be reduced toas close to zero as possible over time as shing methodsbecome more selective.

Gear Modications: Fishermen can use a range ofgears to catch most species. Fisheries managers shouldincentivize shermen to use the gears with the lowestbycatch rates and prohibit gears with unacceptablyhigh bycatch rates. The upfront cost of alternative gearsis outweighed by the immediate economic benets of

improved catch efficiency and the long-term ecological

benet of minimizing bycatch and rebuilding stocks.Effective bycatch caps will hasten gear changes ifexisting, non-selective gears result in early closures ortime-area restrictions that limit shing opportunities.These incentives should be coupled with baseline gearrequirements to reduce bycatch such as restrictions onlongline conguration, bait and hook requirements, andsoak time limits on gillnets and tow times on trawls.

PROTECT KEY SPECIESCertain species, such as those that are depleted,overshed, ecologically important, long-lived or subject toadditional conservation and management, require special

consideration to ensure that bycatch does not underminemanagement goals such as recovery, rebuilding andmaintaining optimal population levels. To minimize andmitigate the higher risk these species face from bycatch,sheries managers must consider additional options,including precautionary mortality limits, enhanced catchmonitoring, spatial closures and alternative gears provento reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality.

an Skerry


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OCEANA.ORG

RECOMMENDATIONSCount Everything, Everything CountsEverything that is captured, even if discarded,should be counted and documented with accuracyand precision.

Establish Bycatch Caps In All FisheriesBycatch limits for non-target sh, sea turtles, marinemammals, seabirds and depleted shark populationsmust be based on scientic information. Once theselimits are reached, sheries should be shut down forthe remainder of the season.

Document Catch With Statistical Accuracy And PrecisionCouncils must implement standard bycatch reportingprocedures across Fishery Management Plans andmust produce accurate and precise bycatch estimates.Increased resources must be dedicated to fund higherlevels of observer coverage to ensure that catch limitsand bycatch caps are not exceeded.

Implement Bycatch Reduction IncentivesCouncils must encourage shermen to reduce bycatchby creating incentives within Fishery Management Plansto avoid hotspots, use cleaner gear or install devices thatdeter marine animals.

Minimize Discards And Improve Seafood UseCouncils must facilitate quota sharing and collaborationbetween shermen targeting and incidentally capturingthe same species so that the amount of discardedmarketable sh is minimized.

Implement Ecosystem-based Management

The National Marine Fisheries Service must account for thecumulative impacts of shing activities on all protectedspecies when authorizing additional injuries and mortalityacross different sheries and regions of the country. Thedetrimental impacts of bycatch on habitat and the amountof forage sh that are in an ecosystem must also beaccounted for.

Promote Cleaner GearWhen possible, sheries managers should facilitate thetransition to cleaner, more selective shing gear andprohibit harmful shing methods with high bycatch.

CONCLUSIONBycatch is a signicant problem in the U.S. that continuesto undermine successful sheries management and wastethe oceans living marine resources. Despite some recentprogress in establishing bycatch limits and beginning touse more selective shing methods, improvements mustbe made in accurately reporting bycatch and reducing theamount of sh that are discarded at sea. Making key changessuch as counting everything that is caught, establishingbycatch limits, and using innovative management measuresto avoid and reduce bycatch over time will improve theresilience and economic viability of U.S. sheries for

generations to come.


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2001 Courts order the New England groundsh sheryto develop a Standardized Bycatch ReportingMethodology.

2002 Courts uphold the NMFS decision to close largeareas of the North Atlantic to pelagic longlineshing gear to protect sea turtles.

2002 Courts nd that the government violated the lawwhen it failed to assess bycatch or to minimizebycatch and bycatch mortality in the Pacicgroundsh shery.

2002 Oceana petitions the U.S. Department ofCommerce to fulll its legal obligations andimmediately promulgate a rule to count, cap andcontrol bycatch in U.S. sheries.

2003 NMFS releases a National Bycatch Strategy andregional implementation plans.

2003 Oceana pressures the government to requirelarger TEDs in shrimp nets in the Gulf of Mexicoand south Atlantic Ocean.

2004 Congress doubles funding for sheries observerprograms.

2004 Strong advocacy by Oceana prompts the NewEngland Fishery Management Council to establishbycatch caps for eight critical groundsh species.

2005 The court rules that NMFS failed to establish astandardized bycatch reporting methodology andfailed to respond to scientic evidence generatedby Oceana showing that at least 20 percent ofshing boats must carry observers to obtainaccurate information about discards.

2005 NMFS issues emergency measures to addressunintended (but illegal) haddock catch in theAtlantic herring shery, including a bycatch limitthat stopped shing activity once reached.

2005 Oceana releases a new study, Wasted Resources:Bycatch and Discards in U.S. Fisheries , showingthat approximately 22 percent of commercialsheries catch is discarded each year.

2005 NMFS announces it will conduct a comprehensiveassessment of bycatch and provide regular updatesto the data.

2006 NMFS implements a regulation requiring thescallop dredge eet to fund observers to monitorthreatened and endangered sea turtles.

OCEANA REDUCING BYCATCH: A TIMELINE

nservation International Mexico | Northwest Program Projecto Tamar Brazil | Marine Photobank


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OCEANA.ORG

2007 Oceana and NOAA win lawsuit requiring largeAlaska trawl eets to retain approximately two-thirdsof their catch, serving as an incentive to reducebycatch.

2007 NMFS denies a proposal from the Pacic FisheryManagement Council to allow drift gillnet vesselsto operate in an area off the California and Oregoncoasts, where such shing had been seasonallybanned to protect the critically endangered Pacicleatherback sea turtle.

2009 The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councilvoted for emergency action to protect sea turtlesby prohibiting bottom longline gear for six months inwaters shallower than 50 fathoms, where nearly allof the sea turtle deaths occurred.

2009 The North Pacic Fishery Management Councilvotes to set a bycatch cap of 60,000 Chinooksalmon in the Bering Sea pollock shery, the rsttime that federal policy makers have set such a capin the worlds largest shery by weight.

2011 Courts require NMFS to establish a standardizedbycatch reporting methodology for commercialsheries from North Carolina to the Canadianborder under the Magnuson Stevens Act.

2011 Oceana releases a new report disclosing seriouscompliance problems with the use of TEDs in theGulf of Mexico shrimp trawls, highlighting continuedthreats to sea turtles.

2011 The New England Fishery Management Councilapproved the use of a modied dredge that wasdeveloped by the scallop industry to reduce seaturtle mortality.

2012 North Pacic Management Council votes to reducethe halibut bycatch limit by 15 percent in the Gulf ofAlaska trawl shery.

2012 Oceana challenges the failure to count bycatch inthe New England groundsh shery. The govern-ment has yet to comply with the courts 2011decision, so Oceana has led suit.

2012 Oceana settles with NMFS to ensure that observerdata from the New England groundsh shery is ac-curate, precise and timely. NMFS implements newregulations for the shery, including accountabilitymeasures for newly managed species.

NOAA


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1 Food and Agriculture Organization. 2012. 2011 Yearbook Fishery andAquaculture Statistics. Capture Production, Inc.

2 Kelleher, K. 2004. Discards in the worlds marine sheries: An Update.Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations FisheriesTechnical Paper 470, p. 134.

3 Davies, R., Cripps, S., Nickson, A., and Porter, G. 2009. Dening andestimating global marine sheries bycatch. Marine Policy, doi:10.1016/ j.marpol.2009.01.003.

Read, A., Drinker, P., and Northridge, S. 2005. Bycatch of marine mammalsin U.S. and global sheries. Conservation Biology 20: 163-9.

5 Harrington, J., Myers, R., and Rosenberg, A. 2005. Wasted sheryresources: discarded bycatch in the USA. Fish and Fisheries 6: 350-361.

National Marine Fisheries Service. 2011. National bycatch report. W.A.Karp, L.L. Desfosse, and S. G. Brook,eds. NOAA Technical Memo,Silver Spring, MD.

7 National Marine Fisheries Service. 2014. Updated National bycatch report.W.A. Karp, L.L. Desfosse, and S. G. Brook, eds. NOAA Technical Memo,Silver Spring, MD.

8 Wigley SE, Blaylock J, Rago PJ, Tang J, Haas HL, and Shield G. 2011.Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology 3-year Review Report 2011-Part 1. US Department Commerce, Northeast Fish Sci Cent Ref Doc. 11-09; 285 p. Available from: National Marine Fisheries Service, 166Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026.

9 Faunce, C. and Barbeaux, S. 2002. Deployment and Observer Effects asEvidenced from Alaskan Groundsh Landing Reports. ftp:/ /ftp.afsc.noaa.gov/posters/pFaunce02_deployment-observer.pdf.

10 Burns, R., and Kerr, G. 2008. Observer effect on sher bycatch reports inthe New Zealand ling bottom longlining shery,New Zealand Journal ofMarine and Freshwater Research , 42(1): 23-32.

11

Marine Fish Conservation Network. 2010. Meeting the Information Demandsof 21st Century Fisheries: A Needs Assessment for Fisheries ObserverPrograms. http://www.conservesh.org/storage/marinesh3/documents/ts-mfcn0101_report_web.pdf

12 Babcock, E. and Pikitch, E. 2003. How much observer coverage is enoughto adequately estimate bycatch? http://oceana.org/sites/default/les/reports/BabcockPikitchGray2003FinalReport1.pdf

13 Larese, J. P. 2009. Fish and invertebrate bycatch estimates for the Californiaset gillnet shery targeting halibut and white seabass, 1990-2006, NOAATechnical Memorandum, NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-441

14 Wallace, R. 1996. Catch and bycatch: is there really a difference? In FisheriesBycatch: Consequences and Management. Alaska Sea Grant Report 97-01.

15 Brogan, G. 2006. Comment letter: Scoping comments of Oceana onAmendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.Submitted to the Federal Register via e-rulemaking portal.

16 Brogan, G. 2009. Comment letter to the Mid-Atlantic Council: Omnibusamendment: National Standard 1 requirements scoping comments.Submitted to the Federal Register via e-rulemaking portal.

17 National Marine Fisheries Service. 2007. Loggerhead sea turtle 5-yearreview: Summary and Evaluation. U.S. Department of Commerce,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ofce of ProtectedResources, Silver Spring, MD.

Camhi, M., S. Fowler, J. Musick, A. Brutigam, and Fordham, S. 1998. Sharksand their relativesecology and conservation. Occasional Paper of the IUCNSpecies Survival Commission no. 20, p. 39.

Worm, B., Davis, B., Kettemer, L., Ward-Paige, C., Chapman, D., Heithaus, MKessel, S., and Gruber, S. 2013. Global catches, exploitation rates, andrebuilding optinos for sharks.Marine Policy 40: 194-204.

20 Corts, E., E. Brooks, P. Apostolaki and C.A. Brown. 2006. Stock assessmentof the dusky shark in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Sustainable FisherDivision Contribution SFD-2006-014

21 Morgan, A. and Burgess, G.H. 2007. At-vessel shing mortality for six specieof sharks caught in the northwest Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Gulf andCaribbean Research Institute 19:123-129.

22 Baum, J., Myers, R.A., Kehler, D.G., Worm, B., Harley, S.J., and Doherty, P.A2003. Collapse and conservation of shark populations in the NorthwestAtlantic. Science 299: 389-392.

23 National Marine Fisheries Service. 2013. Atlantic Highly Migratory Speciesannual catch limits and specications. U.S. Department of Commerce, NationOceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD.

24 Mandelman, J., Cooper, P., Werner, T., and Lagueux, K. 2008. Sharkbycatch and depredation in the U.S. Atlantic pelagi

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Oceana Bycatch Report

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