Significant conservation benefits obtained from the use of a new fishing gear in the Chilean Patagonian toothfish fishery

Published source details Moreno C., Castro R., Mujica L.J. & Reyes P. (2008) Significant conservation benefits obtained from the use of a new fishing gear in the Chilean Patagonian toothfish fishery. CCAMLR Science, 15, 79-91.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use catch and hook protection devices on fishing gear Action Link

Use catch and hook protection devices on fishing gear

A before-and-after study in 2002 and 2006 of a pelagic area in the South Pacific Ocean, Chile (Moreno et al. 2008) reported that using net sleeves on fishing hooks resulted in less sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus and killer whale Orcinus orca damage to catches of Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides. Results are not based on assessments of statistical significance. The average percentage of fish damaged/haul by sperm or killer whales was lower when net sleeves were used on fishing hooks (0.4%) than when conventional fishing gear without net sleeves were used (3%). Eleven industrial vessels targeting Patagonian toothfish each deployed 99–120 ‘long line’ fishing lines. Each deployment consisted of a main line with vertical branch lines (15–20 m long) and hooks at 40 m intervals. A cone-shaped net sleeve (1–1.2 m long) on each branch line covered caught fish during hauling. Fish damaged by whales were recorded by fishers and onboard observers as each line was hauled in September–December 2006. Data for 2002 were taken from a previous study in which the same area was fished with conventional ‘long line’ fishing gear without net sleeves (see original paper for details).

(Summarised by: Anna Berthinussen)