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Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline

Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline

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USA Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico <strong>and</strong> Caribbean <strong>Pelagic</strong> Longl<strong>in</strong>e Swordfish <strong>and</strong> Tuna Fisheries<br />

Aside from the blue shark, recent decl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g trends <strong>in</strong> CPUE for<br />

other shark species caught <strong>in</strong> the U.S. Atlantic PLL fishery have<br />

been reported (e.g. Baum et al., 2003; Baum <strong>and</strong> Myers, 2004).<br />

A similar pattern s<strong>in</strong>ce the mid-1990s has been echoed via observer<br />

reports from Japanese vessels operat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the Atlantic (e.g. Senba<br />

<strong>and</strong> Nakano, 2005). Although whether a true reflection of decl<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong><br />

abundance is a topic beyond the scope of this report, the decreases <strong>in</strong><br />

catchability could be expla<strong>in</strong>ed by underreport<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>creased biteoffs<br />

from lighter gear (Brooks et al., 2005) <strong>and</strong> the historical use of<br />

J-hooks, changes <strong>in</strong> observed fish<strong>in</strong>g effort through alternate shifts<br />

<strong>in</strong> gear or fish<strong>in</strong>g distribution (Beerkircher et al., 2002), <strong>and</strong> most<br />

speculatively, the potentially successful establishment of personal<br />

fish<strong>in</strong>g strategies <strong>and</strong> gear configurations by <strong>in</strong>dustry to reduce<br />

shark <strong>in</strong>teractions.<br />

A9.2.2. Takes accord<strong>in</strong>g to region <strong>and</strong> alternative factors<br />

Independent of seasonal <strong>and</strong> geographic factors, the highest rate of<br />

blue shark catch (spann<strong>in</strong>g 1990-1997) co<strong>in</strong>cided with swordfish as<br />

opposed to tuna targeted effort accord<strong>in</strong>g to observer data (Hoey <strong>and</strong><br />

Moore, 1999). Under the same conditions, swordfish were generally<br />

targeted <strong>in</strong> sets deployed between 2:00PM <strong>and</strong> 10:00PM with retrieval<br />

sometime between 4:00AM <strong>and</strong> 10:00AM. Alternatively, deployment<br />

<strong>and</strong> retrieval of tuna-targeted sets occurred at 2:00AM-12:00PM <strong>and</strong><br />

4:00PM-12:00AM respectively (Hoey <strong>and</strong> Moore, 1999). Although<br />

this could imply that blue sharks are more readily caught <strong>in</strong> the dusk<br />

to late even<strong>in</strong>g hours <strong>and</strong> less frequently so <strong>in</strong> the early morn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong><br />

daylight hours, the concordance between their catch rates <strong>and</strong> those<br />

of swordfish could also be a function of the high abundance of blue<br />

shark on the Gr<strong>and</strong> Banks where swordfish have conventionally been<br />

the primary target species of the Northeast Distant (NED) fleet.<br />

The CPUE of blue sharks on the Gr<strong>and</strong> Banks peaks <strong>in</strong> the summer<br />

months with reported rates of 0.10 (Cramer, 1997C). This differs with<br />

the CPUE estimates of 0.001 <strong>in</strong> more southeast zones (GOM, SAB,<br />

<strong>and</strong> FEC). As a function of the high catch rates for the species <strong>in</strong><br />

the Northeast distant areas like the Gr<strong>and</strong> Banks, Canadian fisheries<br />

account for a very high overall percentage of blue shark bycatch<br />

(DFO, 2002).<br />

Fig. A9.6. St<strong>and</strong>ardized CPUE (number per 1000 hooks) <strong>and</strong> 95%<br />

confidence <strong>in</strong>tervals for blue shark. All <strong>in</strong>dices are st<strong>and</strong>ardized to<br />

the mean of the overlapp<strong>in</strong>g years (Brooks et al., 2005).<br />

Coupled with season <strong>and</strong> depth, behavioral thermoregulation also<br />

appears to be an important variable dictat<strong>in</strong>g the catch rates of blue<br />

sharks (John Hoey, personal communication). Although highly<br />

migratory <strong>and</strong> able to tolerate a wide array of temperature gradients,<br />

the species tends to prefer more temperate zones. Catch rates of blue<br />

sharks have been found to decl<strong>in</strong>e by 9.7-11.4% <strong>in</strong> response to an only<br />

0.6 °C <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> sea surface temperature (Watson et al., 2005). Not<br />

surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, it has also been shown that blue sharks tend to prefer subsurface<br />

depths that possess cooler temperatures (e.g. Simpfendorfer<br />

et al., 2002). However, more comprehensive studies on blue shark<br />

distribution accord<strong>in</strong>g to full water column temperature profiles<br />

<strong>and</strong> thermocl<strong>in</strong>e dynamics are necessary before amend<strong>in</strong>g fish<strong>in</strong>g<br />

practices <strong>in</strong> accordance with patterns <strong>in</strong> sea-surface temperatures.<br />

In a study which assessed catch characteristics <strong>in</strong> two southeastern<br />

zones, a more st<strong>and</strong>ardized CPUE estimate than could be assigned<br />

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