Fishing for Solutions at the World Fisheries Congress

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, May 4, 2004 (ENS) - An estimated 1,500 delegates from 80 nations are gathered here for the world's most prestigious fisheries conference, the 4th World Fisheries Congress, but Canada's Fisheries Minister is not here. Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan, appointed last December was instead in Ottawa announcing his intention to re-open two areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to cod fishing.

"Consistent with advice provided to me last week by the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, I agree that a limited fishery for the 2004-05 fishing season can be opened in the northern Gulf with maximum removals of up to 3,500 tonnes and up to 3,000 tonnes in the southern Gulf," said Regan.

Geoff Regan in Canada's Minister of Fisheries. (Photo courtesy Office of the Minister )

This year's opening depends one the establishment of specific seal exclusion zones to reduce seal herds in areas where spawning and juvenile fish can be protected, and the extension of fishing closures in areas and times to protect cod during their spring spawning period activity.

But the World Fisheries Congress organizers are disappointed by their own minister's absence. "It's a sad comment, isn't it?" Professor Tony Pitcher, founding director of the Fisheries Centre at the University of B.C. and chairman of the conference's program committee told the "Vancouver Sun."

Still, the British Columbia and federal governments sent scientists to the conference and have each contributed a portion of the C$1 million organizing cost. B.C. Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister John van Dongen gave the opening speech.

European Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler is not in Vancouver, but in Brussels, where he is attempting to break a longstanding deadlock among coastal states engaged in the northeast Atlantic blue whiting fishery who are all increasing their whiting catches so as to claim a much higher share than they are rightly entitled to, Fischler said. "The EU is running out of patience."

Nor did Australian Fisheries Minister Senator Ian Macdonald show up in Vancouver. He is in Canberra handing out praise to the Australian Customs and Navy who have apprehended 37 illegal fishing vessels ihn Australian waters so far this year.

And so the Vancouver spotlight fell upon a coalition of fishermen, scientists and conservation groups who launched the International Smart Gear Competition at the opening of the Congress on Monday. The contest offers a $25,000 prize for innovative fishing gear that reduces bycatch, the accidental deaths of marine mammals, birds, sea turtles and non-target fish species.

The competition is open to anyone – professional gear manufacturers, backyard inventors, fishermen, students, engineers and scientists. The winning design will be "the most practical, cost-effective method for reducing bycatch of any species," organizers said.

One of the most successful pieces of smart gear in use today is the turtle excluder device. The oval metal ring and bars deflect the turtles. The cut in the netting is where the trap door will be placed. The bars force a turtle to the trap door which will open allowing the turtle to go free. (Photo by William Folson courtesy NOAA)

There are three categories for entries - gear that reduces sea turtle bycatch, gear that reduces cetacean bycatch, and gear that reduces bycatch of any other non-target species.

The winning entry will receive funding to take the design from the drawing board to prototype development, testing, and initial manufacture.

Entanglement in fishing gear is the most serious threat to marine mammals in all oceans, as noted in the report released last month by the U.S. Oceans Commission.

“Reducing wasteful practices like bycatch is essential to the health of our oceans,” said Scott Kraus of the New England Aquarium and the coordinator of the Marine Wildlife Bycatch Consortium. “Finding ways to fish smarter, and fish safer, is a win-win proposition for fishermen, fish stocks and our marine ecosystems.”

“Bycatch is one of the biggest threats to healthy marine ecosystems and results in large economic losses to fishermen,” said Tom Grasso of World Wildlife Fund’s marine conservation program. “We hope this competition is able to harness the creativity and ingenuity of fishermen, students and the public to reduce the waste caused by inefficient gear.”

Gus Rassam, chief executive officer of the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, pointed out that bycatch has been reduced in a number of fisheries where scientists and fishermen have worked together.

“Even in fisheries where species are in crisis because of bycatch, solutions that allow fishermen to continue fishing and reduce bycatch are attainable. The implementation of acoustic ‘pingers’ on gillnets to scare away dolphins, and circle hooks for longlining that reduce sea turtle mortality, grew out of collaborations between fishermen and scientists,” Rassam said.

According to WWF, bycatch is the single greatest threat to marine turtles. As many as 200,000 loggerheads and 50,000 leatherbacks are caught annually by commercial long-line tuna, swordfish, and similar fisheries.

Traditional "J" hook on the left, with circle hooks (Photo courtesy WWF)

In partnership with scientists and the fishing industry, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently tested a circle shaped hook in the Atlantic, and the number of turtles killed was reduced.

This new hook is better than the current “J” shaped hook which can be snagged or swallowed by turtles, leading to suffocation or internal bleeding if swallowed, the conservation group says. By contrast, turtles are less likely to swallow the circle hooks, and easier to unhook when they are snagged on a circle hook.

In some cases, the new hook has led to higher swordfish catches. "The technology is cost-effective and also frees up hooks for tuna, swordfish and other species," says Scott Burns, director of the WWF US Marine Program. "If fishermen decide to switch over to the new system, they will not only be helping protect endangered marine turtles, but they'll also be helping themselves financially in many instances."

A charter boat unloads a catch of yellowfin tuna and dolphinfish at Manteo, North Carolina. (Photo by William Folsom courtesy NOAA)

“Our team has designed trawls that allow groundfish to escape from shrimp fisheries and we’re testing gear that could reduce bycatch of Mexico's critically endangered vaquita porpoise,” said the Marine Institute's Glenn Blackwood. “We know from experience that solving the world's bycatch problems requires more attention, creativity and incentives, and we're excited to be part of a competition that's producing all three."

The Smar Gear Competition is meant to keep marine mammals and turtles off hooks meant for other species, but it will do little to stop the intentional dumping of fish harvests to beat restrictions. Even species that earn top dollar on shore may get dumped because of restrictions on how many can be landed.

The restrictions are intended to prevent overfishing. So fishermen may bring back to port only the largest fish that fetch the highest prices and dump the rest overboard. Observers monitoring a small portion of trawl fishermen off Oregon and Washington found that nearly 44 percent of their 1997 fish harvest was dumped overboard.

With the problem of too few fish being chased by too many boats in all the oceans of the world, it will take smart gear and then some to turn the trend around.

For more information on the International Smart Gear Competition visit: http://www.smartgear.org.