Exchange Profiles

Fiomarine Industries Pty Ltd, based in Australia, are designers and manufacturers of ropeless subsea equipment and gear retrieval systems. Fiomarine realized a need for ropeless systems over 20 years ago because of a near-fatal boating accident caused by traditional fixed gear fishing operations. From this event the original Fiobuoy concept was created, it has been deployed in diverse applications and configurations since that time. The Fiobuoy is an all in one ropeless solution that is comprised of an acoustic modem, mechanical release, and popup buoy with an integrated line spool. The system has a unique acoustic identifier code allowing for easy data management while providing system security.

Marine wildlife entanglement occurrences are a global problem that has no territorial boundaries. Traditionally fixed gear fishing equipment comprised of traps, lines, and float assemblies, as used in crab and lobster fisheries, have been found to be a major source of these entanglements. Lost gear occurrences in traditional fixed gear fisheries are caused by entanglement, poaching, vessel strike, vandalism, territorial disputes, and heavy weather.

The impact to marine wildlife from entanglement and lost gear is now recognized as a serious concern and prompted environmentally conscious stakeholders to desire advanced mitigation strategies. State-sponsored Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, academia, and other interest groups have begun identifying areas that are particularly prone to marine biota ensnarement and lost gear occurrences. In addition to ensnarement location data, the frequency of entanglement numbers is starting to be available to further quantify the scale of the problem. Bycatch from lost ghost traps is an ever-increasing problem regardless of designed weak links in traps, gear can continue to fish for years.

Recognizing the pressure imparted on critically endangered species Fiomarine entered into a development program to provide a purpose-built Fiobuoy for the commercial fishing market. The result of two decades of experience created the new Fiobuoy F-Series commercial ropeless fishing system.

Fiobuoy is a registered trademark of Fiomarine.

Fishtek Marine is an engineering company that specialises in the design and manufacture of technologies which mitigate the environmental impacts of commercial fishing. Our smart fishing gear is successfully used in fisheries around the world to reduce bycatch of cetaceans, turtles, seabirds and sharks. In addition to our existing product range, we regularly consult with a wide variety of stakeholders on marine conservation issues and our award-winning engineers are able to develop ideas into viable commercial products using their expertise in mechanical, electronic and injection mould tool design. Our team have many years' experience working in the fishing industry and take to care to ensure solutions work for both fishermen and the environment. 

The mission of the FSUCML is to conduct innovative, pioneering, interdisciplinary research on coastal and marine ecosystems, to mentor the next generation of problem solvers, and to leverage scientific outcomes and expertise through engagement with stakeholders to optimize marine management and conservation.  Within the FSUCML Ichthyology and Fisheries Science Lab, our focus is on the biology and ecology of exploited and poorly studied estuarine and marine fishes. Much of our research addresses specific biological gaps necessary for management and conservation of coastal and deep-water sharks and rays. We employ a variety of tagging and telemetry techniques to examine movements, migration, habitat use patterns and post-release survival of vulnerable and imperiled species. We also use fishery-independent surveys to study population dynamics and the drivers of distribution patterns of fishes and to facilitate studies of life histories, reproductive biology, trophic ecology, stress physiology, systematics and bycatch reduction.

Founded in 1999, Future Oceans is an Australian based organization dedicated to the protection of all marine wildlife. We design and manufacture products that help enable commercial fisheries to operate sustainably.  Our acoustic whale and dolphin pingers are used all around the world in efforts to mitigate cetacean bycatch.

Hookpod is a UK-based company which specialises in the research, development and production of the Hookpod, a standalone device which mitigates against seabird bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries. Hookpods have been developed over 13 years of extensive trials in conjunction with fishermen and conservationists and have been proven to virtually eliminate seabird bycatch with no impact on target catch rate, or the fishing operation. Approved by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, as best practice standalone measures, Hookpods are currently in commercial use in New Zealand. Our team are currently working to increase the adoption of hook-shielding in a number of other fisheries around the world.

The Marine Mammal Commission provides independent, science-based oversight of domestic and international policies and actions of federal agencies addressing human impacts on marine mammals and their ecosystems. Our mission is largely driven by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The MMPA was enacted in October 1972 in partial response to growing concerns among scientists and the general public that certain species and populations of marine mammals were in danger of extinction or depletion as a result of human activities. The MMPA set forth a national policy to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks from diminishing beyond the point at which they cease to be significant functioning elements of the ecosystems of which they are a part. For more about our priorities and activities, please visit our website: www.mmc.gov

For 20 years, the MSC has provided the most widely recognised science-based certification and labelling program for sustainable fishing. The MSC Fisheries Standard is based on the FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. Through a rigorous assessment process, MSC certification provides assurance that fish stocks are being harvested at a sustainable level, that impacts on marine ecosystems are minimised, and that fisheries are well managed.

Keiruna Inc. offers consulting services related to social-ecological assessment of marine megafauna bycatch in small-scale fisheries. This includes: designing, implementing, and training/guiding research teams on the use and analysis of interview-based Rapid Bycatch Assessments; investigating the social dimensions of bycatch, including drivers of fishing practices and interactions between conservation and communities, to guide more effective and ethical conservation action; evaluating the social and ecological impacts of conservation projects. This work is informed by experience evaluating bycatch issues primarily in Southeast Asia, as well as Madagascar and Mexico.