Garrison: Interactions between marine mammals and pelagic longllne fishing gear 



409 



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90°W 85°W 

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80°W 75'W 70°W 65°W 60°W 55°W 50°W 45°W 40°W 35°W 30°W 25°W 20°W 

 I I I I I 1 _J I I I I I L, 



Pelagic longlme observer data 

 1992-2004 



Observed set locations 

 Klarine mammal interactions 

 Z Ottier mammals 

 _ RIsso's dolphin 

 • Pilot wtiales 



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95'W 90°W 85'W 80 W 75 W 70'W 65'W 50 W 55'W 50 W 45 W 40°W 35°W 30°W 25"W 20°W 



Figure 1 



Locations of observed pelagic longline sets and marine mammal interactions from 1992 through 2004. Abbrevia- 

 tions indicate pelagic longline statistical fishing areas; CAR = Caribbean. FEC= Florida East Coast, GOM = Gulf of 

 Mexico, NEC=Northeast Coastal. NED = Northeast Distant, NCA=North Central Atlantic, MAB=Mid-Atlantic Bight, 

 SAB = South Atlantic Bight. SAR = Sargasso Sea. TUN=Tuna North, and TUS=Tuna South. 



Observer coverage was allocated randomly among fishing 

 vessels by calendar quarter and fishing area. Achieved 

 annual observer coverage typically ranged between 

 3-4% of longline sets between 1992-2001 and was near 

 79( during 2002-04. The observers collected detailed 

 information on gear characteristics, set and haul loca- 

 tions, environmental data, and composition of the fish 

 catch. Observers also documented incidental takes of 

 marine mammals including estimated lengths and writ- 

 ten descriptions of each animal and its interaction with 

 the fishing gear (Beerkircher et al., 2004). 



During 2001-04, the Northeast Distant (NED) fishing 

 area (Fig. 1) was closed to the longline fishery because 

 of concerns over marine turtle bycatch. An experimental 

 program was initiated, in cooperation with the fishing 

 industry, to explore potential gear and bait combina- 

 tions to reduce interactions with marine turtles. During 

 the study, fishermen used larger circle hooks rather 

 than traditional, smaller, straight-shanked "J" hooks 



(Watson et al., 2005). There was 100% observer cover- 

 age of this experimental fishing. Because the fishing 

 operations were prescribed by experimental design, and 

 differed from standard commercial fishing operations, 

 data from these experimental sets, including data on 

 marine mammal interactions, were excluded from the 

 current analysis. 



Observed marine mammal interactions 



When a marine mammal interacted with the longline 

 gear (i.e., was hooked or entangled), the observers noted 

 the condition of the captured animal and the type of 

 fishing gear, documented efforts to remove the animal 

 from the gear, and recorded the behavior of the animal 

 after release. Observer comments were summarized 

 to assess the most frequent types of interactions with 

 longline gear. Two species of pilot whales inhabit the 

 waters along the U.S. East Coast: the short-finned pilot 



