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Without passing judgment on the article itself (which I have yet to
read), there are already some management strategies in place to
encourage the live release of large fish while allowing the retention
of the smaller ones, such as slot limits in the recreational fishery.
On the commercial side, I'm sure that some enterprising gear developer
could devise a fish-specific type of TED grate, and there are several
researchers in the western North Atlantic alone who are testing
so-called "weak hook" technology to reduce large finfish and marine
mammal bycatch. Furthermore, this 6 a.m. list should not be
considered exhaustive by any means.
The more challenging side would be to have such a management strategy
adopted by the fishers themselves. There could be some support in
some fisheries if the equivalent poundage could be assured. For
example, the fresh swordfish fishery in the U.S. Atlantic generally
receives a higher total ex-vessel amount for four 120-pound fish than
one 480-pounder. (The smaller fish are easier to cut into
portion-sized pieces, easier to transport with high quality, etc.)
The largest question would be with the recreational fishery, where the
traditional emphasis is on THE largest fish, whether as a record or
within a tournament. Some tournaments do have categories for "meat
fish" such as mahi, but I'm not sure if I see this concept being
applicable to such other species as blue marlin.
Regards,
Dave Kerstetter
Quoting William Silvert <[log in to unmask]>:
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>
> It will be interesting to see how these ideas affect fisheries
> management -- not only whether the concept is accepted, but how it will
> be implemented. Mesh size regulations are designed to let the smaller
> fish escape, but how do we let the large firsh escape?
>
> Bill Silvert
>
--
David W. Kerstetter, Ph.D.
Research Scientist and Adjunct Faculty
NSU Oceanographic Center
8000 North Ocean Drive
Dania Beach, Florida 33004
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