Solving Seabird Bycatch in Alaskan Demersal Longline Fisheries

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The incidental mortality of seabirds in commercial fisheries is a global conservation concern. In longline fisheries seabird mortalities occur as seabirds forage on sinking baits as the gear is deployed become hooked and drown. In Alaska, thousands of seabirds – primarily Procellariiforms – are killed incidental to longline fishing; however, conservation concern is focused on extremely rare mortalities of short-tailed albatross – a US endangered species. Takes exceeding 6 short-tailed albatross within a 2-year period could interrupt or close a $350 million demersal longline fishery with over 1,800 vessels. This talk describes the results of a large scale, highly collaborative research program staged in two fleets over two seasons (1999 and 2000) that tested seven seabird bycatch mitigation measures based mostly on fishermen’s ideas. Among deterrents tested, paired streamer lines proved to be the most comprehensive solution. They successfully reduced seabird bycatch by 88% to 100% relative to controls with no deterrent, with no consequence to catch rates of target-fish or the rate of capture of other bycatch species. Although regulations were put in place based on these results in 2004, the fishing industry adopted streamer lines beginning in 2002. This proactivity resulted in an 80% reduction in seabird bycatch rates from 2002 to 2006 with no observed takes of short-tailed albatross. A series of research programs followed that refined seabird avoidance options for large and small longline vessels resulting in regulation revisions in 2008. This case study stands as one of the rare instances where bycatch reduction proven in research dramatically reduced bycatch in a fishery. We attribute this success to a bottom–up problem solving model, which drew on the expertise and experience of leaders in the fishing industry, staged research in the context of production fishing, and enjoyed strong support from resource managers and the conservation community.