Evaluating effectiveness of time/area closures, quotas/caps, and fleet communications to reduce fisheries bycatch

Published source details O'Keefe C.E., Cadrin S.X. & Stokesbury K.D.E. (2014) Evaluating effectiveness of time/area closures, quotas/caps, and fleet communications to reduce fisheries bycatch. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71, 1286-1297.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use technology to communicate near real-time catch information to fishers to enable avoidance of unwanted catchicate near real-time catch information to fishers to enable avoidance of unwanted catch Action Link
	Set catch limits or quotas for non-targeted commercial catch Action Link

Use technology to communicate near real-time catch information to fishers to enable avoidance of unwanted catchicate near real-time catch information to fishers to enable avoidance of unwanted catch

A review in 2013 of three areas (bottom and midwater) in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans (O'Keefe et al. 2014) reported that programmes that used technology to provide near real-time catch information to fishers resulted in reduced unwanted catch or discards in two of three cases compared to no use of real-time technology. For fish, fleet communication programmes were evaluated as having reduced unwanted catch in two of three cases: of shads Alosinae in the USA Northwest Atlantic herring Clupea harengus and mackerel Scomber scombrus trawl fisheries; of halibut (up to 30%) in the Alaska pelagic longline fishery; but not of mixed species in the yellowfin sole Limanda aspera fishery in USA northwest Pacific region (data not reported, see paper for references to original studies). In addition, in all three cases it was assessed that there were no or minimal negative effects of fleet communication of catches on the catch of non- and commercially targeted species and no or minimal spatial or temporal displacement of unwanted catch, however, only one case was deemed as economically viable for the fishery. The review summarized peer-reviewed evaluations (see paper for details of original studies) of unwanted catch mitigation techniques, including using technology (e.g. satellite and transmitted observer data) to communicate fishing catches among participating vessels.

(Summarised by: Natasha Taylor)
Set catch limits or quotas for non-targeted commercial catch

A review in 2013 of three areas (bottom and midwater) in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (O'Keefe et al. 2014) reported that commercial fisheries that implemented catch limits or quota caps for non-commercially targeted fish resulted in reduced unwanted catch in two of three cases. Data were not statistically tested. Programmes that used technology to provide near real-time catch information to fishers resulted in reduced unwanted catch or discards in two of three cases compared to no use of real-time technology. Catch limits or quotas were evaluated as having reduced unwanted catch in two of three cases: of Pacific halibut Hippoglossus stenolepis in the British Columbia groundfish (bottom) trawl fishery, Canada; and in the mixed species fisheries in New Zealand. A cap for unwanted yellowtail flounder Limanda ferruginea in the USA scallop Pectinidae fishery was evaluated as having not reduced unwanted flounder catch across all affected regions even though it was successful in some areas (data not reported, see paper for references to original studies). The review summarized peer-reviewed evaluations (see paper for details of original studies) of programmes implementing unwanted catch mitigation techniques, including the setting of catch limits or quotas for unwanted or non-commercially targeted fish catch.

(Summarised by: Natasha Taylor)