{"id":11790,"date":"2019-10-02T13:48:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T17:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=11790"},"modified":"2019-10-02T13:48:24","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T17:48:24","slug":"sea-grant-research-could-help-commercial-fishers-keep-sharks-off-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/sea-grant-research-could-help-commercial-fishers-keep-sharks-off-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"Sea Grant Research Could Help Commercial Fishers Keep Sharks off Gear"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>
A sandbar shark strikes a North Carolina fisher’s catch. Photo by Charlie Locke.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact: Katie Mosher, 919-515-9069, kmosher@ncsu.edu<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

North Carolina Sea Grant is collaborating on a new project to keep sharks away from commercial fishing gear. A team from NC State University, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and Indiana University-South Bend are partnering with the private sector to pilot test a device that deters the predators.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral sharks are overfished or are experiencing overfishing on the U.S. East Coast,\u201d says Sara Mirabilio<\/a>, a fisheries extension specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant, a statewide program based at NC State University. \u201cPopulations of scalloped hammerhead, dusky, sandbar and blacknose sharks all could benefit from an effective deterrent from commercial fishing gear.\u201d Most often, sharks are caught unintentionally in a fishery that is targeting other fish, she explains. This is referred to as bycatch.<\/p>\n

The project is one of three announced today<\/a>\u00a0by the National Sea Grant College Program to better understand highly migratory species, such as sharks, along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.<\/p>\n

Mirabilio and colleagues, including Richard Brill at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and Peter Bushnell at Indiana University-South Bend, are testing a state-of-the-art electronic device that could help conserve species of sharks whose populations fishery managers are trying to rebuild. Unlike other fish, sharks possess an electrosensory system that equips them to detect close-range movements of predators or prey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe objective of the project is to keep the sharks away from the fishing gear, not the fishing gear away from the sharks,\u201d says Brill. \u201cTo an approaching shark, even a weak electrical impulse can be disorientating or physically painful.\u201d The device will produce a small electric field around a baited hook.<\/p>\n

According to Mirabilio, industry experts believe reducing shark-gear interactions also will bring savings to commercial fishing operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cSharks eat the fishing boat’s intended catch before it can be brought aboard,\u201d explains the commercial fishing industry partner, Capt. Charlie Locke, owner of the F\/V Salvation<\/em>. \u201cAlso, when sharks are going for the tuna or other fish, they often damage, or even destroy, fishing gear.\u201d Locke adds that sharks can increase the amount of time it takes to retrieve gear, as well as the time to sort the catch on-deck.<\/p>\n

Mirabilio says it\u2019s no surprise that earlier surveys have shown that commercial longline fishers are motivated to use such a device. \u201cBeyond the economics, keeping sharks away all together is more acceptable to industry than time-area closures, mandatory release, and the use of specific hook types or longline-gear configuration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brill touts the team\u2019s device as small, waterproof, and programmable. \u201cOur prototype differs from other devices, such as magnets and electropositive metals, that have produced mixed results,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mirabilio says their approach has shown promise in the laboratory but still needs confirmation through field trials. The team is partnering on the project with Ocean Guardian, the company that pioneered \u201cShark Shield\u00ae<\/sup>\u201d technology, to manufacture the first field-ready prototype. The company promotes electronic shark deterrent technologies as a safe, effective and humane solution.<\/p>\n

Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore will mark the site of initial testing of a field-ready prototype. Then, the team will work with Locke to refine and deploy the device on a commercial longline off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cNOAA has made reducing shark bycatch a management priority,\u201d says Mirabilio. \u201cPositive results from our project would demonstrate that this device could help reduce shark bycatch nationally \u2014 and globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

News coverage of Brill and Bushnell\u2019s earlier research with the electrosensory bycatch reduction device:
\n<\/em>https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/best-states\/virginia\/articles\/2019-08-03\/scientists-are-trying-to-keep-sharks-from-commercial-lines<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

About the other 2019 Sea Grant Highly Migratory Species Research Initiative projects:
\n<\/em>https:\/\/seagrant.noaa.gov\/News\/Article\/ArtMID\/1660\/ArticleID\/2757\/Sea-Grant-Awards-2-Million-in-Research-to-Improve-Understanding-Management-of-Highly-Migratory-Species<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

More information on Atlantic highly migratory species:
\nhttps:\/\/www.fisheries.noaa.gov\/topic\/atlantic-highly-migratory-species<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

More on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture:
\nhttps:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/program-areas\/fisheries-aquaculture\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

What about recreational fishing research and news?
\nHookLineScience.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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