150 word reflection after view a discussion board

Bycatch dicussion board

student 1:

Describe the method to reduce bycatch so that your classmates can comprehend it (~ 75 words).

The method I chose to solve bycatch is limiting fishing by use of Marine protected areas. This works to reduce bycatch because in these areas, fishing is actually illegal. This works to reduce bycatch for one obvious and awesome reason. There isn’t any. At least any legal bycatch. Without boats coming through to fish certain species, there are no nets in the water which leaves no opportunity for species not meant to be caught by the nets, such as sharks and turtles, to get caught.

What is a benefit of this method (1 sentence)?

Actually allows for populations in the area to flourish rather than get by.

What kind of animals does it reduce bycatch of (1 sentence)?

Sharks, turtles, whales, jelly fish, sea birds etc

What is a drawback of the method (1 sentence)? This might a cultural, economic or ecological drawback.

It is really hard to monitor these areas and to see if the laws are actually being observed

What is a fishery that it is used in (1 sentence)? (In other words, what type of gear, target species and region of the world is it used in?)

It is used all over the world for all species and all fisheries

What is your overall impression of the innovation? Do you feel critical or impressed and WHY? (1-2 sentences)

I think it is a great idea but I cannot help but be mildly critical as how do we constanlty supervise open ocean and verify there is no breach in conduct

student2: Gear changes - circle hooks in longlines

The innovation I chose to reduce bycatch was to switch to using circle hooks in longlines. There are three types of hooks that are used in longline fisheries; circle hooks, J-hooks and tuna hooks. The hook design of the circle hook is effective in the way that it is designed to be wider, which makes it too large to fit into the mouths of sea turtles. Another benefit of this method is that not only does it reduce the sea turtle capture rates, it has also reduced the number of sea turtles that get deeply hooked - where the hook is swallowed into the esophagus or even deeper, compared to just being lightly hooked in the mouth. The chances of survival to being deeply hooked are much less. This reduces the bycatch of not only sea turtles, but many other species of fish as well such as tuna, opah, etc. One drawback of the method would be that there is currently no uniform system of hook measurements, as circle hooks come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. This becomes very problematic in the sense that reporting results and comparing them between the different experiments will be compounded as different manufacturers of hooks have different terminology. Another issue is the different shapes changes the performance of these hooks. A hook with a larger gap between the point and the shank, may affect the interactions of the hook with sea turtles.The Atlantic Pelagic longline fisheries now require the use of circle hooks in their longlines. My overall impression of this specific innovation would be seemingly content. Through evidence it seems that the hook does benefit in reducing by catch with sea turtles specifically however, in order to improve it there has to be more regulations and terminology put aside regarding the overall shape, size, how it is made, etc of the hook to ensure it works most effectively.

student 3:Topic: Pingers in nets

1) Pingers are acoustic devices that are fitted on to fishing nets in order to reduce the amount of bycatch while fishing. In order to understand how the device works, they work by emitting a random sonic noise, or 'ping', which can be or should be heard by dolphins, whales and other marine species, preventing them from accidental entanglement as a whole. This aims to attract fishermen to use pingers, in order to encourage on strengthening and reducing bycatch.

2) The biggest benefit in my opinion of this innovation would be the fact that it can not only send warnings of the presence of nets, but the placement of the pingers in general. It is a critical factor in their effectiveness in deterring small species from interacting or even reaching close with the fishing gear.

3) It reduces the most bycatch on dolphins and whales.

4) The main drawback of this method would be the use of technology in the water in general. After some years, devices may not work as efficient, or even be properly charged.

5) The target species that the fishery is used in would be more so towards species who use sonic noises in order to communicate and live their life(Whales and Dolphins). Furthermore, pingers are most commonly used in net fisheries across the whole United States as well as European union.

6) I am widely impressed on the innovation of pingers. Being able to somehow send pings or noises to fellow marine species is quite astonishing, especially being able to save a number of lives due to overfishing and the use of entanglement among species caught in nets. On the other hand, being able to use technology under the depths of the water is surprising, since our newest smart phone can barely reach 10 feet into any water, yet alone the oceanic sea.

student4: Backdown Procedure and Medina Panel:

1. The backdown procedure and medina panel are both methods of reducing porpoise and dolphin bycatch in purse seine fishing- a type of net fishing for fish species like tuna and mackerel in which a net encircles the schools of fish and traps them. The backdown procedure is conducted if dolphins and/or porpoises have been spotted inside the circle, the boat is put in reverse, sinking the net slightly so dolphins near the surface can escape while target fish deeper down remain in then net. The medina panel essentially helps to facilitate the net sinking below the surface.

2. The benefit to this method is that it doesn't reduce catch of target species while the bycatch is drastically reduced.

3. It reduces the bycatch of mostly dolphins and porpoises.

4. The biggest drawback I could think of for this method is that it requires a slow down in fishing to complete the procedure and more people are needed to spot for dolphins so there are a few economic costs.

5. It is used in purse seine fishing primarily in the eastern tropical pacific.

6. I feel quite impressed with the innovation as it seems relatively simple and has managed to contribute to the reduction of dolphin mortality by 98% between 1968 and 1998.

student5:Bycatch technologies - pingers in nets

1. Pingers are a piece of technology used in fishing nets to prevent by-catch of animals that are sensitive to sounds in the water. This device emits "pings" in the water that try to deter animals like dolphins that are sensitive to the acoustic ping in the water. These pings alert the Dolphins and Porpoises that there are nets in the water, so they avoid the immediate area so they aren't trapped by the nets.

2. The electronic pingers are small, durable, and the technology is not very sophisticated so they're cheap, they are also very effective.

3. They are effective against Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises.

4. They are only effective against animals that are sensitive to the pings that are emitted.

5. They are used on fishing nets, and especially effective with tall fishing nets that hang down at low depths.

6. I'm impressed, from what I've seen these devices are incredibly effective, preventing 95% of what would be cases of bycatch. They are also small, durable, and cheap, which is incredibly important for high adoption rates among fishers.

student 6: Limiting fishing - fishery closures

Describe the method to reduce bycatch so that your classmates can comprehend it (~ 75 words). The point of fishery closures is to close some parts off not allowing fisherman to fish to reduce bycatch. So during a specific season/time fisherman won't be allowed to fish in this area, but are allowed to fish in this area. Later on, fisherman are now allowed to fish here but are not allowed to fish at the other spot vice versa. Or even not by area but by species of fish. Some fish are allowed to be fished during a specific season, but sometimes they aren't depending on season.

What is a benefit of this method (1 sentence)? It prevent some fish from being overfished leading them to become endangered and etc.

What kind of animals does it reduce bycatch of (1 sentence)? Depends on season.

What is a drawback of the method (1 sentence)? This might a cultural, economic or ecological drawback. One drawback is that fisherman are not allowed to fish where ever they want or whatever fish they want.

What is a fishery that it is used in (1 sentence)? (In other words, what type of gear, target species and region of the world is it used in?) I feel like this is mainly in the United States and some other parts of developed countries.

What is your overall impression of the innovation? Do you feel critical or impressed and WHY? (1-2 sentences) I think that it is a solid idea that is effective and that should be used in more areas of the world.

If you can, post a picture or short video (from the web) of your innovation. (This not make sense for all of the options.)