Exchange Profiles

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 International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is a bilateral international fisheries organization established by a treaty between Canada and the United States to manage Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) stocks in the North Pacific and Bering Sea.

Arizona State University 

LIFE PROMETHEUS (PROMoting Elasmobranchs conservation THrough by-catch reduction, Ecotourism and alternative sUStainable fisheries) is a five-year European LIFE initiative designed to develop and implement innovative, practical conservation strategies for elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean Sea, by integrating scientific research, stakeholder engagement, and public awareness into a coordinated approach. LIFE PROMETHEUS brings together 21 partners from Italy, Spain, France, Greece and Cyprus under the coordination of the Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy). The project operates across twelve areas distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin and focuses on 15 threatened shark and ray species. One of the three actions of the project regards the reduction of bycatch by testing innovative solutions while supporting the sustainability of commercial fisheries. Among the most promising approaches are magnetic and electric deterrent devices that exploit the electroreceptive sensory system of sharks and rays. Additionally, alternative sustainable fisheries (inverse soaking time in longlines targeting swordfish) will be adopted in specific areas/periods critical for the selected elasmobranch species.

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 over 20 years, the MSC has provided the most widely recognized 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 minimized, and that fisheries are well managed.