Turn deck lights off during night-time setting of longlines to reduce bycatch

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

51%
Certainty

21%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Birds might be attracted to deck lights on fishing boats either to use them to forage, or because birds are generally attracted to lights at night (see ‘Threat: Pollution’ for interventions designed to reduce the threat of light pollution). In either case, birds may be vulnerable, so turning off the lights may reduce mortality.

Study locations

Key messages

A single replicated and controlled study in the South Atlantic found significantly lower bycatch rates when deck lights were turned off during line setting at night.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated and controlled study (Cherel et al. 1996) in February 1994 in the South Atlantic Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides fishery found that seabird bycatch rates on longlines set at night were much lower for lines set when the decklights were turned off, compared to sets with the lights on (0.15 vs. 0.59 birds/1,000 hooks). A total of 21 white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis were caught. This study is also discussed in ‘Set longlines at night to reduce seabird bycatch’.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Cherel Y., Weimerskirch H. & Duhamel G. (1996) Interactions between longline vessels and seabirds in Kerguelen waters and a method to reduce seabird mortality. Biological Conservation, 75, 63-70.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Set lines underwater to reduce seabird bycatch Action Link	Trade-off between benefit and harms	5	Synopsis Link
Turn deck lights off during night-time setting of longlines to reduce bycatch Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Reduce seabird bycatch by releasing offal overboard when setting longlines Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	2	Synopsis Link