In June, 1999, a portion of the Georges Bank fishing grounds (Closed Area II) that had been closed to protect depleted groundfish stocks was opened to US commercial sea scallopers to harvest sea scallop beds that had grown substantially. Vessels that participated in the exemption fishery were each allowed a maximum of three trips in Closed Area II. A trip was limited to 10,000 pounds of scallop...

In Mayotte, in July 2007 interviews were conducted on 406 fishermen to assess the bycatch issue on marine megafauna. Seventy-eight fishermen said they caught at least one turtle so far that year, of which twelve were deliberate and 66 accidental. Of the turtle bycaught, 59 were released alive, six released dead and one eaten or sold. Nine fishermen caught at least one dugong during their life t...

Incidental fisheries capture has been identified as having a major effect on shark populations throughout the world. However, factors that contribute to the mortality of shark bycatch during fisheries capture are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the effects of capture duration, sea surface temperature, and shark total length (snout to the tip of the upper caudal lobe) on the physiolo...

Fisheries bycatch is the greatest threat to migratory, long-lived marine animals. Addressing ultimately requires changing fisher behaviour, yet social and behavioural sciences are rarely applied mitigation, with an absence of theory-informed behaviour change interventions. Moreover, mitigating particularly challenging in small-scale mixed-species fisheries (SSFs), where perceptions target non-t...

Marine megafauna plays an important functional role in marine ecosystems as top predators but are threatened by a wide range of anthropogenic activities. Bycatch, the incidental capture non-targeted species commercial and recreational fisheries, is particular concern for small cetacean species, such dolphins porpoises. In North-East Atlantic, common dolphin ( Delphinus delphis , Linné 1758) byc...

Long implicated in the invasion process, live-bait anglers are highly mobile species vectors with frequent overland transport of fishes. To test hypotheses about the role of anglers in propagule transport, we developed a social-ecological model quantifying the opportunity for species transport beyond the invaded range resulting from bycatch during commercial bait operations, incidental transpor...

Limited information is available on artisanal and subsistence shark fisheries across the Pacific. The aim of this study was to investigate Fiji's inshore fisheries which catch sharks. In January and February 2013, 253 semi-directive interviews were conducted in 117 villages and at local harbours on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Ovalau and a number of islands of the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipe...