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28 Southern California Drift Gillnet Fishery

The Southern California drift gillnet (SCDG) fishery primarily targets swordfish, thresher and short-fin mako sharks. The fishery had approximately 120 active boats a few years ago which ranged in size from 9 to 23 meters in length and are constructed of wood, fiberglass or steel. The size of the fleet has declined as the resource has declined. Trips range up to 14 days in length. The nets are usually set two hours before sunrise and must be retrieved no later than two hours after sunset.

Attention began to be focused on the SCDG fishery because of the bycatch of cetaceans. Despite time and area closures intended to limit mortality of dolphins and whales, a recent study estimates that 2261 of these marine mammals were caught and killed as bycatch in this small fishery for swordfish and sharks from July 1991 through December 1995.

29 According to the U.S. Pacific Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Report (1996), 10 species of cetaceans inadvertently killed in the fishery are being entangled and killed at a rate greater than potential biological removal. In fact, in 1996, for every pound of swordfish that reached the dinner table, an equivalent weight of dolphin or whale was killed.

30 Additionally, during the same July 1991-December 1995 period, bycatch in the SCDG fishery killed 1039 sea lions and seals as well as 93 sea turtles.

31 All are simply labeled bycatch. Seabirds are also caught and killed as bycatch in this fishery but in limited quantities. Overall, in the SCDG fishery which targets swordfish and sharks, at least 22 species fish -- including blue and striped marlin, 15 species of cetaceans, four species of seals and sea lions, two species of turtles, are caught and killed as bycatch. It is unknown if this study adequately accounted for drop-outs in these estimates, which would result in higher estimates of mammal mortalities. Overall only 2% of the observed mammals caught as bycatch in this fishery were released alive. The long-term survivability of these animals is unknown.

There is also a tremendous amount of waste of sharks and other fish in the SCDG fishery. It is estimated that approximately 28,000 sharks were caught and killed in the fishery during 1996. Two-thirds of all sharks caught in the this fishery were discarded and most were expected to have died. Only two-thirds of the tuna caught in the fishery were marketable. All the tuna, however, were dead when caught. Overall, for each swordfish landed in the SCDG fishery, nine other fish are caught and most of these fish are unlikely to survive.

32 U.S. Atlantic Pelagic Drift Gillnet Fishery
The U.S. East Coast pelagic drift gillnet fishery consists of roughly 30 vessels and primarily targets swordfish, but also pursues sharks and tunas. Destructive and unsustainable fishing techniques have reduced the fishable biomass of the North Atlantic swordfish stock by an estimated 42% and some shark species by 80%. The indiscriminate nature of drift gillnets means these nets exacerbate swordfish stock declines by catching and killing immature swordfish and have considerable bycatch of other species as well.

Drift gillnets in the Atlantic swordfish fishery unintentionally kill marlin, sailfish, multiple species of tuna including bluefin, as well as rare, threatened, and endangered species of sea turtles, and marine mammals. Eight species of dolphin and porpoise are unintentionally caught and killed as bycatch in the U.S. Northeast pelagic driftnet fishery along with five species of whale, including the endangered northern right whale. Concerns over the adverse impacts of pelagic drift gillnets on northern right whale populations led NMFS to close the fishery on an emergency basis in November 1996. In a recent environmental assessment of the U.S. East Coast pelagic drift gillnet fishery, NMFS estimated that over 3,800 marine mammals -- over 80% of which were from strategic stocks -- were killed in this fishery between 1989 and 1995.

33 Designation of a stock as strategic indicates that the stock is listed under as endangered or threatened under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, or because the level of human-caused mortality is greater than the stock's potential biological replacement levels.

Solutions

Bycatch represents an unconscionable waste of animal life that can be significantly reduced. The international community, while acknowledging the seriousness of the problem, has not acted to reduce bycatch mortality. Despite the inclusion of provisions addressing bycatch within numerous national and international laws and resolutions, such as the UN Fisheries Agreement and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, these provisions have not, in most instances, been implemented. Many nations and international fisheries management bodies simply pay lip service to these documents, while others ignore them altogether. The global political aversion to decisively address the bycatch problem is rooted in a principle as old as politics itself: an unwillingness to trade short-term economic pain for long-term economic gain. The United States has stepped forward as a leader in the effort to reduce bycatch by amending the Magnuson-Stevens Sustainable Fisheries Act to mandate that bycatch and the mortality of such bycatch be minimized. While this step is encouraging, we need to take immediate action.

We are calling on U.S. policymakers to immediately establish measures to significantly reduce bykill. If we can bring about a 75% reduction, it would represent a significant advance in the conservation and management of HMS species. It is an ambitious but achievable goal. It is also vital that maximum bycatch standards are established immediately for each U.S. fishery. These hard targets should be incorporated into the fishery management plans for tunas, swordfish, marlin, and sharks being developed by the office of Highly Migratory Species at the National Marine Fisheries Service. We encourage citizens to call Secretary William Daley at the Department of Commerce, and urge him to stop bykill. His number is (202) 482-2112.

The fishing industry and fisheries managers have a responsibility to solve the bycatch problem. The key to alleviating the problem is to recognize that bycatch is not a simple consequence of fishing. Instead, bycatch, and the waste and devastation associated with it, are the consequences of certain fishing gears (such as drift longlines and gillnets) and practices (such as fishing in a nursery area where there are high concentrations of juvenile fish). The solutions outlined below represent options that fishers and managers can utilize to realize immediate, significant reduction in bycatch.

I. Reduce what fishermen encounter

Modify non-selective fishing gear, so that non-target fish are not readily caught.
Drift gillnets, drift longlines and purse seines are all used in HMS fisheries and all have too much bycatch in specific fisheries. To date, modifications to reduce bycatch in longline fisheries have not been successful.
Alter fishing techniques and strategies.
For example, time-area closures should be instituted in nursery areas, spawning or other areas where high bycatch rates are observed.
Restrict or eliminate use of the most destructive gears in instances when the modification of non-selective fishing gear or alteration of fishing techniques is not successful in reducing bycatch. The use of sub-optimal fishing gear capturing non-target species and juveniles reduces the abundance, size and composition of animals available.

II. Increase survivability of what is encountered

Many animals caught as bycatch are already dead when hauled aboard a fishing vessel. Efforts need to be undertaken to minimize the mortality and maximize the survivability of bycatch. These steps should include:

Live release of all bycatch, including non-target and juvenile fish, when brought to the boat alive.

Prohibit finning of sharks, the barbaric practice of cutting fins off sharks and throwing the animal, sometimes still alive, back into the water.

Develop techniques and strategies to increase survivability of bycatch, including
Reduce the amount of time gear is in the water.

Require the use of circle hooks, which hook fish in the mouth rather than the throat or gut, allowing for a higher survival rate of released fish.

III. Improve management

Ensure that bycatch that cannot be eliminated is fully accounted for in fishery management plans. Count discards against established quotas. Dead is dead and loss of that individual harms a species' population regardless of whether or not the fish is sold at market.

In multi-species fisheries, manage based on the needs of the rarest, most vulnerable species in that fishery.

Improve bycatch monitoring programs and data collection without "studying the issue" -- and the fish -- "to death."

Investigation into bycatch issues is complicated by a dearth of reliable data in most fisheries. Improved data collection is a necessary tool for solving the bycatch problem, but data collection is not a solution in and of itself. Better monitoring and coverage of bycatch is needed in nearly all fisheries. While additional data collection is useful and should continue, the best available science tells us that the time to act, given a precautionary approach, is now, before fish populations decline further.
Reduce overall mortality in selected fisheries by retaining bycatch only when research and comprehensive monitoring programs indicate that increased retention can be sustainable.

The problem of bycatch as a whole cannot be resolved by simply increasing the utilization of non-target species and juvenile fish caught as bycatch. In some fisheries, not including the highly valuable ocean giants, increased retention of bycatch can be part of a strategy to reduce overall mortality by leading to changes in gear or practices that reduce bycatch. Proper monitoring programs must be in place if bycatch is retained, to prevent fishermen from landing overfished species and juvenile fish which never should have been caught.
Laying blame on fleets of other nations is not a solution, it is an excuse for inaction.
Bycatch is a problem around the globe, but fixing the problem in our waters is necessary if we want to help U.S. fishermen, or improve management of fish internationally.

Key Definitions

Bycatch

The unintended catch or take of animal life associated with commercial fishing operations, including non-target species of fish, and undersized or juvenile fish of targeted species, as well as turtles, marine mammals, and birds.

Gillnet

A net suspended vertically in the water column intended to capture fish by ensnaring the fish's gills to prevent escape. Gillnets are highly non-selective fishing gear with high bycatch rates.

Longline

Fishing gear comprised of a central mainline to which hundreds of baited hooks on leaders are attached at regular intervals. Longlines are non-selective, hooking anything large enough to bit the hooks.

Maximum Sustainable Yield

The greatest amount of a species or populating that can be removed without diminishing the continuing production and supply of a resource.

Purse Seine

A net used to encircle entire schools of fish which is able to be pursed or closed at the bottom creating a bowl shaped net from which escape is impossible. Purse seines killed hundreds of thousands of dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific tuna fishery in the 1970s and 1980s.

Non-target species

Species other than the target species of fishing operations, e.g. sharks in a swordfish fishery. Non-target species may constitute a valuable portion of the daily catch in some fisheries, or may be discarded as bycatch.

Non-Selective Fishing Gear

Fishing gear that catches non-target species or undersized target species in addition to intended target species. Examples are gillnets, trawls, and longlines which often have high bycatch rates.