# Presentation: 828888

## NOAA Fisheries Perspective on Incidental Catch of Sea Turtles and Seabirds   November 22, 2002 Second International Fishers Forum, Honolulu, Hawaii  

**NOAA Fisheries Perspective on Incidental Catch of Sea Turtles and Seabirds****  ** November 22, 2002 Second International Fishers Forum, Honolulu, Hawaii

**Notes:**
  Thank you very much for inviting me to speak
  This has been a very exciting week filled with thought-provoking presentations 
  I am especially gratified to see how this forum has grown from the initial forum in 2000
  I also have been happy this week to have shared the company of our international partners, who share our commitment
  I would like to take this opportunity to describe what NOAA Fisheries has been working on related to bycatch and how it affects fishermen, other agencies and countries, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).  
  We want to continue and enhance our efforts to collaborate and cooperate with the fishing industry, fishery agencies, academic institutions, NGOs, and international bodies on research and outreach. 

## Minimizing Bycatch: A High Priority

***Managing the Nation’s Bycatch***** (1998)**
**Degradation of marine environment**
**Impacts to endangered and threatened resources**
**Dramatic management measures**
**Innovative research**
**Continue to work with industry on solutions**

**Notes:**
  Minimizing bycatch is a high priority for NOAA Fisheries.  
  Our 1998 report Managing the Nation’s Bycatch generally stated, “Bycatch concerns stem from the apparent waste that discards represent when so many of the world’s marine resources are either utilized to their full potential or overexploited.” 
  The effects of fishing gear on these species result in a degradation of the overall marine ecosystem.  
  Certain types of fishing gear can  affect protected resources that are already threatened with extinction.  
  Under U.S. law, NOAA Fisheries has taken action, for example, implementation of bycatch reduction techniques for seabirds and area closures to reduce interactions with sea turtles.  
  Also established a research program to find solutions to fisheries interactions with seabirds and sea turtles. 
  We need to continue to work side-by-side with the fishing industry to design gear and alter fishing practices, and monitor and evaluate bycatch and the effectiveness of bycatch reduction measures.

## Population Overview

**Notes:**
  To understand the population-level impacts of bycatch of seabirds and sea turtles, NOAA Fisheries and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have undertaken studies to monitor population status and threats.  
  Studies have identified numerous threats that continue to affect sea turtle and seabird populations.  
  Remember that in the United States, NOAA Fisheries has joint jurisdiction with USFWS for sea turtles: USFWS on land and NOAA Fisheries in the water.  
  USFWS has primary responsibility for monitoring populations of seabirds.  

## Potential Impacts on Sea Turtle Population Trends

**Legal and illegal exploitation--eggs, immature turtles, adults**
**Bycatch and commercial/recreational fisheries interactions**
**Propeller strikes and vessel collisions**
**Degradation of coastal habitat**
**Marine debris**
**Fibropapillomatosis (FP)**

**Notes:**
  All six species of sea turtles found in the United States are currently listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  
  Reasons for status include:
 illegal and legal exploitation
 incidental capture in commercial fisheries
 propeller strikes and vessel collisions 
 coastal development can interfere habitats
 shoreline protection techniques and beach nourishment projects have degraded nesting beaches
 marine debris, from oil to discarded fishing gear
 sometimes fatal disease called fibropapillomatosis

## Potential Impacts on Seabird Population Trends

**Fisheries interactions**
**Climatic and oceanographic factors impacting prey availability**
**Marine pollution, esp. plastics ingestion**
**Organic contaminants**
**Nest predation (by rats and feral cats)**

**Notes:**
  Endangered short-tailed albatross numbers between 1,300 and 1,600 individuals worldwide.  
  Laysan and black-footed albatross populations (not endangered) exhibit extreme interannual variation.  
  The worldwide population of Laysan albatrosses--about 2.4 million
  Worldwide population of black-footed albatrosses--about 280,000-300,000
  Factors contributing to colony population levels and trends:  
 marine pollution (particularly plastics ingestion)
 organic contaminants
 nest predation
 habitat degradation
 climatic and oceanographic factors impacting prey availability
 BYCATCH--by far the most noted contributing factor 

## International Cooperative Efforts

**Management must occur on a multi-lateral scale because bycatch is a global problem **
**Seabirds on agendas in bilateral meetings and meetings with international organizations**
**Bycatch reduction taskforce**

**Notes:**
  Management must occur at a multilateral level. 
  Bycatch is a global problem that can only be solved if each nation with longline fisheries acts to reduce bycatch.  
  In 2002 NOAA Fisheries added seabird bycatch issue to agendas of several bilateral fisheries meetings.
  NOAA Fisheries has placed or supported the placement of seabird bycatch on the agenda of the meetings of several international organizations (APEC, CCAMLR, ICCAT).  
  We also have formed a bycatch reduction task force.
  The U.S. government has contacted more than 20 nations with longline fisheries and raised the topic of seabird and sea turtle bycatch.

## International Coordination

**International Coordination**

**Southern Seabird Solutions**
**BirdLife International Seabird Conservation Programme**

**Notes:**
  Our collaborative international efforts along with those made by other governments and groups will be pivotal to continued progress on the bycatch issue.  
  I would like to acknowledge are Southern Seabird Solutions and BirdLife International.  
  Southern Seabird Solutions is a recently formed alliance in New Zealand of people from government, fishing industry, environmental, and tourism groups that are working collectively to foster seabird-safe fishing practices in fishing fleets.
  New Zealand has more species of breeding albatrosses under its jurisdiction than any other country in the world!  
  BirdLife International has developed a Seabird Conservation Program that works with its in-country national partners to foster projects aimed at solutions to bycatch.  

## International Turtle Research

**has resulted in discovery of turtle forage areas off N. Chile and information on the status of green turtles in the Galapagos Islands**
**has revealed nesting origins of loggeread turtle populations off Baja California and W. coast of S. America**

**Notes:**
  International cooperative research also has led to significant discoveries about turtle distribution and additional international protections for turtles. 
  NOAA Fisheries has partnered with NGOs, universities, local fishing communities, and foreign governments to conduct green turtle research and implement activities that have reduced the mortality of green turtles in key areas such as Baja California.  
  We have collaborated with colleagues in Ecuador to determine the status of green turtles in the Galapagos and with colleagues in Peru and Chile to discover a significant, new forage area for this species in northern Chile.  
  Collaborative research on the loggerhead turtle with our Mexican and Japanese colleagues has shown that large foraging aggregations of loggerhead turtles off Baja California are from Japanese nesting beaches.
  Our work with Chilean and Peruvian collaborators has resulted in an important breakthrough: loggerheads off the west coast of South America have been identified to be of Australian nesting stock origin.  

## Seabird Bycatch Research

**Washington Sea Grant Program (WSGP)--paired streamer lines reduced bycatch by 88-100%**
**WSGP--integrated weight groundlines for demersal gear**
**Hawaii study on dyed bait and weighted branch line**
**Collaborative pilot study on underwater chute-setting device in Hawaii ****effectively reduced seabird bycatch, compared to a control of no deterrents, by 95-100%**

**Notes:**
  NOAA Fisheries has devoted significant resources to promoting the development and use of management and mitigation measures by longline fishermen.  
  Washington Sea Grant Program (WSGP), with NOAA Fisheries support, concluded that paired streamer lines effectively reduced seabird bycatch, compared to a control of no deterrents, by 88-100%.  
  WSGP also began another study to test the effectiveness of fast-sinking demersal gear at reducing bycatch, also being tested on longliners in New Zealand, with assistance from Australia.  
  A NOAA Fisheries study in Hawaii found that blue-dyed bait and weights added to baits reduced number of gear interactions by about 90%. 
  A National Audubon Society, Hawaii Longline Association, NOAA Fisheries, and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council study recently conducted in Hawaii found that underwater line-setting effectively reduced bycatch, compared to a control of no deterrents, by 95-100%. 

## Turtle Bycatch Research

**Western Atlantic longline project--delayed haul times, offset circle hooks, satellite transmitter deployment**
**University of Florida hook study**
**Honolulu Laboratory research on dyed bait, branch line/float line arrangements, stealth gear, and deep-sets**
**Oceanographic processes, modeling**

**Notes:**
  We are finishing up our second year of experiments in the Western Atlantic to evaluate sea turtle mitigation measures in the pelagic longline fishery--focus on blue-dyed squid, hook position relative to floats on sea turtle bycatch, delayed haul times, and offset circle hooks.  
  We funded a study conducted by the University of Florida in the longline fishery of the eastern Atlantic to evaluate the effects of different style hooks on sea turtle bycatch.  
  NOAA Fisheries’ Honolulu Laboratory has also initiated research on sea turtle mitigation techniques, focusing on testing the effectiveness of using blue-dyed squid bait and moving branch lines more than 40 fathoms away from float lines, as well as the use of stealth gear and deep-sets for swordfish.  
  Linkages between sea turtle movements and oceanographic processes have also been studied, and computer simulation models have been developed to better assess the effects of the Hawaii-based longline fishery. 

## Turtle Bycatch Management Measures

**Continued and expanded observer programs**
**Western Pacific regulations and mandatory annual protected species workshop**
**07/02 Atlantic HMS closure and gear requirements**

**Notes:**
NOAA Fisheries has continued and expanded observer programs to document sea turtle bycatch.  For the Hawaii-based longline fishery, we are required to maintain a coverage level of at least 20%.  This year, the percent coverage of the fishery is projected to be around 25%, with about 250 observed trips.   
  NOAA Fisheries has promulgated regulations to reduce sea turtle bycatch in the domestic pelagic longline fisheries in the western Pacific region, including a prohibition on shallow-set longline fishing for swordfish, a trip limit on swordfish bycatch, and a requirement for vessel operators, including those based in American Samoa, to annually attend a protected species workshop.  
  This year, NOAA Fisheries has certified 280 U.S. longline fishermen, including vessel owners, in the western Pacific for completing the workshop requirement.  
We implemented regulations for Atlantic highly migratory species fisheries that closed the northeast distant statistical reporting area to fishing, placed requirements on gangions and hook types, and required vessels to post turtle handling and release guidelines. 

## Seabird Bycatch Management Measures

**Observer coverage**
**Western and North Pacific seabird avoidance regulations **
**Workshops **
**NPFMC changing avoidance measures required in groundfish and halibut hook-and-line fisheries off Alaska**
**Promotion of USFWS free streamer line program**

**Notes:**
NOAA Fisheries and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council have initiated seabird-specific mitigation actions such as mandatory annual workshops for fishermen designed to help them reduce seabird interactions in the Hawaii longline fishery.  
  In the North Pacific, NOAA Fisheries collaborated with Washington Sea Grant Program for the 2002 bycatch avoidance workshops for commercial longliners in Alaska ports.  
  The  North Pacific Fishery Management Council is changing existing regulations for seabird avoidance measures required in the groundfish and halibut hook-and-line fisheries off Alaska
  We are promoting the USFWS free streamer line program in Alaska.

## Future Needs: Sea Turtles

**Continue and expand observer programs further**
**Continue and expand collaborative efforts with states to address bycatch in nonfederal fisheries**
**continue and expand multi-national efforts to conserve sea turtles**
**Continue to improve knowledge of turtle populations, trends, status**

**Notes:**
  I n the future, we need to: 
 continue and expand observer programs to evaluate fisheries interactions with sea turtles; 
 continue and expand collaborative efforts with states to address sea turtle bycatch in nonfederal fisheries; 
 continue and expand multi-national efforts to conserve sea turtles; 
 and continue to improve our knowledge on sea turtle populations, trends, and status. 

## Future Needs: Seabirds

**Implement NPOA, including**
**assess longline fisheries for seabird bycatch (including use and expansion of existing observer programs)**
**implement bycatch reduction measures**
**prepare annual report on seabird bycatch mortality for each longline fishery**
**advocate NPOAs within relevant international fora**

**Notes:**
For seabirds, we need to implement the U.S. National Plan of Action (NPOA) for Reducing the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries, including:
  assessment of longline fisheries for seabird bycatch by February 2003 (including use of and expansion of existing observer programs);
  implement measures to reduce seabird bycatch within 2 years of determining a problem exists;
  prepare an annual report on status of seabird bycatch mortality for each longline fishery; and
  advocate NPOAs within relevant international fora.

## Collaborations, International Focus Yield Best Results

**Collaborations, International Focus Yield Best Results**

**Notes:**
  One pattern has emerged--collaboration and an international focus yields the best results:
 The Washington Sea Grant Program seabird project involved agency, academic, and industry partners.  
 The underwater setting chute experiments in Hawaii were collaborative efforts.
 Collaborations research has resulted in discoveries about turtle distribution. 
 The use of chartered commercial fishing vessels 
 Gatherings like the 2nd International Fishers Forum. 
  I believe it is through the synergies created with these partnerships and collaborations of the various stakeholders that we can best tackle these problems 
  The examples I’ve described here illustrate successes in a mostly non-litigious environment and effective partnerships among managers, scientists, fishermen, and conservationists. 
  Thank you.