Bycatch reduction device

In the fishery business, a bycatch reduction device is a tool designed to minimize unintended capture of marine animals, to reduce the adverse effects of fishing on the ecosystem.

Development

To minimize accidental capture of marine animals, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries developed and tested bycatch reduction devices (BRDs). These devices are openings in shrimp trawl nets that allow finfish or other unwanted aquatic animals to escape, while the target species, shrimp, is directed towards the tail bag or cod end of the net. The placement and design have been developed in conjunction with normal bottom trawling practices, using trawl nets outfitted with a turtle excluder device. BRDs are required in shrimp trawl nets working in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regions.

A pulsed electric field-based shark and ray bycatch mitigation device, SharkGuard, was reported to have reduced bycatch of blue shark by 91% and of stingrays by 71% with commercial fishing gear in a French longline tuna fishery in the Mediterranean.

Legal imperative

Officially, National Standard 9 was added to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1996 to address the need to control the magnitude of bycatching. The standard mandates minimizing bycatch to the extent practicable and minimizing mortality of unavoidable bycatch. Congress increased requirements to protect this harvest in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. In response to these mandates, NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service) developed an ongoing by-catch plan and published Amendment 10 to the Fisheries Management Plan of the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council.