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The examples that David gives are mainly from fisheries where the catch is
handled one by one, as in the recreational fishery or hook and line
fisheries. I imagine that these are relatively easy to control, at least in
principle. My concern is more with bulk fisheries, especially trawl
fisheries, where by the time the fish come on board they are either dead or
so stressed that they are unlikely to survive even if immediately thrown
back. Think of the gadoids or small pelagics.
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "David W. Kerstetter" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: UCSD: Scripps Oceanography News Release: Fishing Throws
Targeted Species Off Balance
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
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