143rd Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society

September 08 - 14, 2013

Given the predicted decline in many fish stocks worldwide and an ever increasing demand on those resources as a function of human population growth, it is important that efforts be made towards sustainability in fisheries. Essential to these efforts is the evaluation and reduction of global bycatch, which has been estimated to comprise up to 40% of marine fisheries catch worldwide. The growing field of conservation engineering, which applies knowledge of fish behavior to guide fishing gear modifications, has given managers new tools to help minimize bycatch. These tools include fishing gear with improved fish size and species selectivity, as well as subsequent spatial and temporal strategies that managers can use to further increase the efficacy of bycatch mitigation. In addition to determining ways to reduce incidental catch, current research also incorporates the evaluation of post-release health of captured animals, the role of bycatch in food webs, as well as genetic and socioeconomic studies. The breadth of this research contributes towards fisheries sustainability by reducing waste of our living resources, as well as improving fisheries managers’ ability to assess stocks and measure the impact of a fishery on an ecosystem scale. In the “Dealing with Bycatch” symposium we endeavor to first present findings from NOAA Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP) award recipients, and then to present additional bycatch research in a variety of fields that work to address challenges in a broad cross section of fisheries. These presentations will update both AFS members and meeting participants on the progress being made towards fisheries sustainability through bycatch reduction, will demonstrate the role of the NOAA BREP program in bycatch mitigation, and will hopefully inspire collaboration and research innovation. These presentations also should help identify new research directions for 2014 and beyond that will provide useful results for fisheries managers.