Hauling Up Solutions 2: Workshop report released

On 22-24 March 2022, representatives from industry, policy, science, conservation, seafood supply, engineering, and gear design convened at the Hauling Up Solutions 2 (HUS2) workshop at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. Their goal? To develop clear, realistic recommendations for modifying fishing gear or switching to alternative gear types, to address the challenge of wildlife bycatch in UK fisheries.

Over three sunny days, as fishing boats could be seen leaving and returning to port, presentations and breakout discussions explored the current landscape of bycatch mitigation measures in the UK, and abroad. Building on the results of the Hauling Up Solutions 1 workshop held in 2019, HUS2 provided an important opportunity to:

• Celebrate and review existing bycatch reduction work underway in the UK.
• Better understand the state of play for the use of alternatives to net fishing gears across the world, including benefits, challenges and knowledge-gaps.
• Encourage new thinking to push the boundaries of current bycatch-reduction measures in UK fisheries, capturing both barriers and incentives.
• Develop clear, actionable recommendations for policy on the subject of gear modifications and use of alternative gears, as well as realistic, practical options for their implementation in UK fisheries.

An exhibition of gear, tech and research related to bycatch-mitigation during the event gave participants a closer look at some of the measures under discussion. A marine animal dissection was also conducted by the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme, allowing participants to learn more about the impacts of bycatch and ask questions. The session also provided insight into features that indicate the cause of death, which can help with reporting bycatch.

The personal experiences and expertise of all present provided essential insights during the course of the workshop, and in developing recommendations.

Going forward, the recommendations resulting from HUS2 will inform the future work of Clean Catch UK, feeding into the work of the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, which outlines how the UK government and devolved administrations will achieve their ambitions to minimise and, where possible, eliminate the bycatch of sensitive marine species.

Read the full report from the workshop here.