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Alternative Gear

Technique change

Alternative gear means changing the type of gear used in a fishery, to one that maintains commercial viability but poses a lower risk to wildlife.

Artificial Bait

Gear modification

Fine-tuning an artificial bait to the specific sensory capabilities of the target species (i.e. knowing whether they predominantly use their vision or sense of smell etc to find food) can reduce bycatch of unwanted non-target species.

Chemical Deterrents

Gear device

Marine animals detect chemical signals in their environments, using their peripheral sensory systems. Certain chemical compounds have been studied as a bycatch mitigation technique in longline and purse seine fisheries.

Circle Hooks

Gear modification

Circle Hooks are modified fishing hooks, in which the pointed end of the hook sits at a right angle to its shank, creating a smaller opening between the two than that of typically-used J hooks.

Corrodible Hooks

Gear modification

Corrodible Hooks are fishing hooks made from a material that will dissolve over time, minimising the post-release mortality rate of seabirds, marine mammals and elasmobranchs from whom a hook cannot be removed.

Decoys

Gear device

Operating much like a scarecrow in a field, decoys are predator-shaped cut outs are placed at regular intervals along gillnets or strung beneath a baited longline, hoping to trigger an innate avoidance response in the bycatch species.

Depredation Mitigation Device

Gear device

DMDs in various ways “protect” or “cage” the hooked target catch, all operating via a mechanism which triggers when a fish is hooked, in order to mitigate the effects of depredation.

Lights (LEDs)

Gear device

LED lights are designed to be attached to the ropes on fishing nets in static and driftnet fisheries, to increase visibility of the gear to a wide range of non-target species. Different patented designs are available.

Limit Mainline Length

Gear modification

Limiting the length of the mainline – from which the baited branchlines are attached and extend into the water column – reduces the temporal distribution of baited hooks which, by extension, minimises the risk of bycatch.

Mitigation Options

Alternative Gear

Artificial Bait

Chemical Deterrents

Circle Hooks

Corrodible Hooks

Decoys

Depredation Mitigation Device

Lights (LEDs)

Limit Mainline Length