Report of the 6th Annual Ropeless Consortium Meeting: continued development and policy impact of on-demand fishing to prevent large whale entanglements

Abstract

Seasonally closed trap fishery areas mitigate large whale entanglement risk. Acoustic retrieval of bottom traps without persistent vertical lines can restore fishery access. Concerns include functionality, cost and operational constraints of acoustically triggered ‘on-demand’ buoyant bottom-stowed line or an inflatable lift bags. Without surface gear attached to a vertical line from the trap(s), virtual gear marking and on-demand gear interoperability remain concerns. U.S.A. east coast lobster and west coast crab, as well as Canadian snow crab have been harvested using on-demand gear in areas otherwise seasonally closed. U.S.A. South Atlantic black sea bass fishery regulations reopened closed areas to on-demand systems. Challenges include bottom gear location estimation and minimizing gear conflict with fixed and mobile gear fisheries. Enforcement solutions include development of a single deck box triggering multiple brands of ondemand gear, and adoption of interoperable acoustic communication standards. Satellite or cellular communication of gear positions between interested vessels must be interoperable between brands of on-demand gear and navigational systems. Policies by which position data will be shared between different user groups are also under discussion. All these facets must be integrated into a regulatory framework in both the U.S.A., and Canada towards sustainability for fisheries and whales globally.