Exchange Profiles

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.

Novatec Braids Ltd is a privately held manufacturer of Novabraid Braided Ropes with a specific focus on commercial fishing solutions.  Located in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Canada, Novatec Braids has worked tirelessly to develop ropes to enhance sustainable productivity within the fishing industry and created innovative products to protect marine mammals through cooperative efforts with marine scientists, regulatory agencies, and fishing industry groups.  Beginning in 2014, Novatec Braids worked jointly with the Massachusetts South Shore Lobstermen’s Association to produce the SSL 2.0 low strength breakaway link, allowing fishermen to augment their existing vertical lines with an engineered rope “fuses” that would part when subjected to a load equivalent to that of a whale entanglement.  After lengthy scientific studies, Novabraid is ready to provide the links in an assortment of sizes and ID color flecks with the goal of protecting migratory whale species from entanglement, identifying gear from specific fisheries, while allowing lobster and crab fishermen to continue making their livelihood from our oceans.   We continue to work with advocacy groups along with industry partners interested in protecting whale species through other methodologies and can provide ultra-high modulus, small diameter cord for electronic “ropeless” fishing options as well as oceanographic research deployment and recovery lines.

Pesca Blue is a grassroots organization in Pacific Mexico that co-designs regenerative blue economic opportunities with small-scale fishing communities in exchange for their voluntary efforts in marine conservation.  Specifically, our scientific team collaborates select fishing families to reduce bycatch of sea turtles, sharks, rays, and crocodiles by monitoring bycatch and identifying hotspots where fishing activities can be avoided or modified and incorporating technology such as LED lights for gillnets, pingers for longlines, and other bycatch reduction devices for traps and trawls.  Pesca.Blue is developing a digital storytelling marketplace to connect eco-conscious consumers with the fishing families to directly purchase seafood at a premium price and purchase other products created from fish waste (i.e. pet treats, pet supplements, biofertilizers) or services in pescatourism and research support.

SafetyNet Technologies develops light emitting devices to help fishermen catch the right fish, lowering bycatch by up to 90% and improving fishing revenues by 25%. This saves more fish, helps fishermen, and protects an increasingly essential food source now and for the future. We have projects around the world with national governments, scientists, retailers and the fishing industry.

School for Marine Science and Technology is a graduate school at the University of Massachusetts engaging in research and education in all areas of marine science and technology. The Fish Behavior and Conservation Engineering (FBACE) Laboratory under the leadership of Professor Pingguo He focuses on the understanding of fish behavior, in the laboratory and in the field, and the application of the knowledge in designing fishing gears and operational strategies to reduce bycatch and discards, seabed disturbance, and other environmental impacts of fishing operations.