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Purse Seine Bycatch Mitigation
Purse seine fishing is well-known for high levels of dolphin bycatch because it often sets on dolphin pods (dolphin setting) while targeting tuna due to spatial associations between dolphin and tuna. Mitigating dolphin bycatch in purse seine gear is accomplished by an industry-inspired combination of changes in methodology and gear configuration. First, purse seiners now generally tend to avoid dolphin setting. Second, dolphins are allowed to escape from the enclosed purse seine via the process of 'backing down', in which the boat reverses, causing the net changes shape from a circle to an oval, and then the net is pulled under the dolphins on the surface. Third, purse seine nets contain Medina panels, which are sections of fine mesh that prevent dolphins from becoming entangled in the gear and are placed in areas that dolphins would most likely interact with while trying to escape. These mitigation techniques have successfully reduced dolphin bycatch in purse seine gear. However, it appears that the shift from dolphin setting to other methods has increased bycatch of sea turtles in purse seines. This example underscores the need to take multiple protected taxa into account when creating strategies to reduce and hopefully eliminate bycatch of long-lived marine animals.
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