Search The Database

This study evaluated the potential for artificial bait to enhance catch selectivity in the Mexican shallow-set longline fishery operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the western coast of the Baja California Peninsula. Experimental sets were deployed using three bait treatments: natural bait (mackerel, Scomber japonicus), an artificial squid lure, and an artificial squid lure with natural scent. Artificial bait reduced shark catch by up to 99% while maintaining catches of valuable target species such as yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares). However, natural bait produced the highest overall catch rates. Given the limited catch and number of sets in this study, additional data are needed to determine whether similar patterns occur across other commercially important species, such as swordfish. 

This study quantifies fisheries interactions affecting small cetaceans along the Southern Brazilian coast and estimate cryptic mortality masked by decomposition. Researchers analyzed data from 321 necropsied cetaceans collected by the Santos Basin Beach Monitoring Project from 2016 to 2019, focusing on the Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) and the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). A high fisheries interaction rate (68%) was observed among 25 well-preserved carcasses. Extrapolating this interaction rate to decomposed P. blainvillei carcasses increased the estimated number of bycaught individuals from 68 to 182, indicating that mortality may be severely underreported.

This study evaluates the applications, challenges, and opportunities of adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce bycatch and discards in fisheries based on a literature review and 17 in-depth interviews with fishery stakeholders. AI use cases included real-time species identification, on-board automated sorting, "smart" fishing gear, environmental-DNA sampling, and more robust, data-driven decision making. More widespread adoption of AI in fisheries is hindered by technological stage (most AI tools are developmental, pilots, or prototypes), as well as limited acceptance/trust among fishers.