Subject: Bycatch:Cooperative Proposal to Reduce MM Bycatch in Driftnets (fwd)
Michael Williamson (pita@whale.simmons.edu)
Wed, 19 Feb 1997 12:19:55 -0500 (EST)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
J. Michael Williamson
Principal Investigator-WhaleNet <http://whale.wheelock.edu>
Associate Professor-Science
Wheelock College, 200 The Riverway, Boston, MA 02215
voice: 617.734.5200, ext. 256
fax: 617.734.8666, or 617.566.7369
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 18:07:44 -0500
From: Vicki Cornish <Vicki.Cornish@noaa.gov>
Reply-To: Marine Mammals Research and Conservation Discussion
<MARMAM@UVVM.BITNET>
To: Multiple recipients of list MARMAM <MARMAM@UVVM.BITNET>
Subject: Cooperative Proposal to Reduce MM Bycatch in Driftnets
COOPERATIVE PROPOSAL AIMS TO REDUCE WHALE AND OTHER MARINE MAMMAL
INTERACTIONS WITH SHARK AND SWORDFISH DRIFTNETS
The National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a
cooperative plan that is expected to significantly reduce injuries and
deaths to marine mammals from commercial shark and swordfish
driftnets, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration announced today.
The proposed plan would reduce the bycatch and mortality of several
marine mammal stocks, including pilot, sperm, and the rare beaked
whales, that incidentally occur when fishing for swordfish and
thresher shark with driftnet gear off California and Oregon. The
draft plan, designed by a team of experts from the fishing industry,
environmental groups, and scientists, was submitted by the Pacific
Offshore Cetacean Take Reduction Team to meet requirements of the
Marine Mammal Protection Act.
"This cooperative team was formed to ensure everyone had an
opportunity to participate in reducing marine mammal interactions with
commercial fishing gear as mandated by federal law," said Rolland
Schmitten, fisheries service director. "The plan is a great example
of teamwork and cooperation."
"I am excited to be part of a process that allows fishermen to be
involved in determining the outcome of a take reduction plan," said
Tony West, head of the California Gillnetters Association and member
of the team. "Fishermen are much more informed about how to identify
areas of marine mammal activity and how to avoid interacting with
them."
"We were able to reach consensus in a group of people that represented
opposite sides of the issue," said Hannah Bernard, director of
education for the Hawaii Wildlife Fund and also a team member.
"There isn't any question that this type of team effort is going to
become more common as a way to seek solutions to our environmental
problems."
Four primary strategies are being proposed to reduce bycatch in the
fishery:
Establish a fleetwide fishing depth requirement of six fathoms.
Lowering nets has already significantly reduced incidental bycatch of
cetaceans in this fishery. The proposed rule would require vessel
operators to set their nets a minimum of six fathoms below the
surface.
Conduct mandatory workshops to provide skippers with information on
how the take reduction plan was developed and how to avoid marine
mammal entanglement. These fisheries service workshops also would
solicit feedback from fishermen on how to reduce marine mammal
interactions.
Require all fishery vessels to use pingers to deter marine mammals
from their nets. Preliminary results from a 1996 pinger experiment in
the fishery show that the cetacean entanglement rate is almost four
times less for nets using pingers than for those nets that do not.
Pingers are high-frequency acoustic devices that may keep marine
mammals from becoming entangled in fishing nets.
Further limit the potential expansion of fishing effort in
California and Oregon. This proposal would not affect those driftnet
fishermen that annually land well beyond established minimum landing
requirements. The fisheries service is seeking comment on two
recommendations, one to cease reissuing driftnet permits that have
been allowed to lapse, and the other to institute a permit buy-back
program to purchase permits from those fishermen who only land the
minimum number of fish required to maintain their permits.
Comments on the draft plan must be received by March 31, 1997. Send
comments to Chief, Marine Mammal Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226. Copies of the Federal Register notice,
draft plan, and Environmental Assessment are available upon request
from Irma Lagomarsino, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 W. Ocean Blvd.,
Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213; or from Victoria Cornish,
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910-3226.
Submitted by:
Vicki Cornish
NMFS Office of Protected Resources
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
phone: (301) 713-2322
e-mail: Vicki_Cornish@noaa.gov