Bycatch News Archives 2009

NZ bycatch put under the spotlight
(Added: 28 October 2009)
Leading law, policy and science experts will gather in Wellington, New Zealand on November 19 to tackle the issue of how to reduce the levels of recreational and commercial fishing bycatch that are seriously threatening New Zealand's marine animal species.
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NOAA awards $3 million to protect whales
(Added: 27 September 2009)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is awarding $6.5 million to a Rhode Island fisheries foundation for use in fisheries conservation research and to help fishermen buy gear that is safer for passing whales. $3 million will go towards helping fishermen exchange floating ropes for sinking ropes to nets and lobster gear to help stop North Atlantic right whales becoming entangled.

Dolphin freed from nets
(Added: 23 August 2009)
It's usually dolphins that are helping humans in trouble at sea but fishermen off the New Zeland coast recently returned the favour by freeing a dolphin caught in a fishing long-line. The dolphin was seen swimming towards their vessel, spalshing around and initially the fishermen thought it was playing until they saw the animal had a piece of long-line wrapped around it's head and tail fluke. Within minutes, it was successfully cut off and the animal freed.

'Bycatch' whaling a growing threat
(Added: 24 June 2009)
Scientists are warning that a new form of unregulated whaling has emerged along the coastlines of Japan and South Korea, where the commercial sale of whales killed as fisheries "bycatch" is threatening coastal stocks of minke whales and other protected species.
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Possible new measures to stop bycatch
(Added: 29 April 2009)
New measures that could stop dolphins being caught in fishing nets could be before the New Zealand Parliament within a week.
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Protecting rare whales in Hawaiian waters
(Added:- 18 March 2009)
USA environmental groups are suing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for allegedly failing to prevent longline fishing fleets from repeatedly accidentally snagging false killer whales off Hawaii at twice the rate the species' population can sustain. Longline fishing vessels lines can range from 1 mile to 50 miles long. The whales are attracted to the fish caught on those lines - the same fish the lines are catching for people to eat. This species is particularly vulnerable because these whales don't reproduce quickly or frequently and only start producing calves at approx 15 years old. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the NMFS has violated the law, and issue an injunction to compel it to comply.

Sedation used to free whale
(Added:- 12 March 2009)
For the first time ever, a North Atlantic right whale that had been severely entangled in fishing gear, was administered a sedation mixture that made it possible for rescuers to remove 90 percent of the entanglement.
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Dolphins and porpoises wash ashore
(Added:- 19 January 2009)
Recent storms around the Cornish coast led to at least ten seals, dolphins and porpoises being washed up. The greatest number of bodies reported was at Porthluney Cove, off Veryan Bay, where an adult and younger male common dolphin were found. In addition dead harbour porpoises were washed up at Summerleaze Beach near Bude and Praa Sands near Porthleven. Some of the dead mammals were thought to have died at sea but it is hard to be certain, not least because some of the bodies were partly decomposed. Cornwall has the highest rate of deaths of dolphins, whales and porpoises in the UK.

More monitoring of dolphins needed
(Added:- 08 January 2009)
A new US report is urging the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to collect more data on bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico and figure out how to better protect the mammals from fishermen. The report by the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, looks at the federal agency's compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act. There are 14 stocks of marine mammals in U.S. waters that are not being monitored closely enough by NMFS and bottlenose dolphins are among those mammal stocks.

Dead dolphin tragedy in Dubai
(Added:- 07 January 2009)
Members from the Deep Blue Diving Centre in Dubai were horrified when they recently came across the body of a dead dolphin entangled in discarded fishing net. It appeared that the female dolphin had been desperately trying to give birth before she died.
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