Mitigation measures to reduce entanglements of migrating whales with commercial fishing gear

Funded Activity Summary

Whale entanglements in the western rock lobster (WRL) fishery have increased dramatically with changes in fishing times from a move to a quota. The recent commonwealth Department for the Environment (DE) assessment removed the fishery from five-year export approval, granting a two-year Wildlife Trade Order (WTO) with conditions on whale entanglements. Subsequent correspondence from the Department of Fisheries (DoF) and DE requested information from industry as to what actions will undertaken for the 2014 and 2013 humpback migrations respectively. DoF correspondence indicated a seasonal closure may be implemented ‘in the absence of specific alternative action(s)’. A closure during the humpback migration (1 May-30 Nov) would concentrate fishing into the remaining 5 months resulting in a reduced beach price. Winter beach prices are ~$70/kg, with a move from this high value period into a condensed season reducing GVP by ~$50 million.
TRF project (2013-037) addresses the immediate aspects of the WTO conditions, required by 31 March 2014. Industry groups, while cognizant of the need to address the issue of whale
entanglements are reluctant to proceed with the introduction of gear modifications without a clear scientific rationale behind their testing.
Project 2013-037 is a preliminary study and with its initiations after the 2013 humpback migration has begun, detailed gear testing and migration information was not possible. However it is planned to identify a number of viable mitigation options that are worthy of detailed evaluation in 2014. This project extends on Project 2013-037 addresses the longer term (2014-2015) DE conditions, which would enable year-round market access.


Objectives:
1. Determine and implement appropriate gear modifications and management changes to reduce entanglements with migrating humpback whales
2. Produce fine-spatial and temporal information on whale migrations along the west coast of Western Australia necessary for a tailored spatio-temporal closures and/or areas for gear modifications.
3. Provide clear scientific methods behind the testing of selected gear modifications to reduce whale entanglements
4. Incorporate any new practices that may reduce entanglements with migrating whales in the CoP for the fishery and ensure its extension and adoption

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 02-05-2014

End Date: 08-07-2016

Funding Scheme: Funding Scheme not available

Funding Amount: $499,999.00

Funder: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

There are no FoR codes available for this funding activity

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Bycatch | Electronic Log Book | Fishing Gear | Health And Safety | Migration | RAC WA | Remote Sensing | Safety

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