Fishermen have just as much desire to avoid by-catch as conservationists do. By-catch doesn’t just harm the environment; it also harms fishermen’s bottom lines.
THE BIGGEST environmental risk from fishing isn’t that fishermen are too successful at netting their catch but that they’re too successful at catching everything else. Although this problem is commonly associated with tuna fishermen catching dolphins in their nets, it affects a wide variety of species, from right whales to sea turtles and everything in between. However, an innovative program being developed at the New England Aquarium through the Consortium for Wildlife Bycatch Reduction offers hope for real improvement. This organization pairs scientists and fishermen to find innovative yet non-intrusive ways to work together to cut down on bycatch without negatively impacting fisheries.
Read the complete editorial from The Boston Globe