Bycatch in Small-scale Tuna Fisheries
A global study
By
Robert Gillett
Abstract
The aim of the study was to quantify catches of tuna and bycatch in small-scale pelagic fisheries. Additional goals were to identify on a global scale information gaps, major issues and management concerns associated with these fisheries and their bycatch.
The study made estimates of tuna and non-tuna catches in the small-scale fisheries of 181 ocean areas. The total amount of tuna produced by these fisheries was around 681 000 tonnes per year in the mid-2000s. about 753 000 tonnes of non-tuna was produced by those same fisheries.
The major priorities for improving our understanding of bycatch in small-scale pelagic fisheries are improved coverage of by catch by the tuna regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) that collect such information, increased involvement of the other tuna RFMOs in small –scale pelagic fisheries, verification of the high reported catches from small-scale pelagic fisheries in Indonesia, and greater technical details on the small-scale pelagic fisheries that take sensitive species.
Contents
1 – Introduction
2 – Regional Findings
3 – Some general issues
4 – Comparisons between regions and countries
5 – Identification of dedicated tuna fisheries
6 – Comparisons between gear types
7 – Turtles, marine mammals and seabirds
8 – Discards
9 – Management of bycatch
10 – Improving information on small-scale pelagic fisheries: Priority areas
ساحة النقاش