Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP)

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Section 316 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, as amended through January 12, 2007, required the Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the Councils and other affected interests, and based upon the best scientific information available, to establish a Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP), including grants, to develop technological devices and other conservation engineering changes designed to minimize bycatch, seabird interactions, bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in Federally managed fisheries. The BREP's first annual Report to Congress was issued in January 2009.

What's New? (Last Updated: 5/4/09 )

Emergency Rule: Bottom Longline Gear Restriction in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery

Removing Fishing Gear from Longline Caught Sea Turtles
Video on this website details, in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, the tools and techniques for safely removing hooks and line from incidentally captured sea turtles.

Gulf of Mexico Pelagic Longline Bluefin Tuna Mitigation Research--2008 Project Report

Final Rule to Implement Amendment 30B to the FMP for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico
This rule establishes an incidental bycatch allowance trip limit for commercial gag and red grouper and reduces the commercial minimum size limit for red grouper from 20 inches to 18 inches total length to reduce bycatch.

Proceedings of the Technical Workshop on Mitigating Sea Turtle Bycatch in Coastal Net Fisheries

Final Rule to Revise the Maximum Retainable Amounts of Groundfish in Gulf of Alaska Fisheries

Final Rule to Revise Seabird Avoidance Requirements for Alaska Groundfish and Halibut Fisheries

Notice of Availability of Amendment 18 to the FMP for Pelagic Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region
This rule would remove the annual limit on the number of longline shallow sets, and increase the number of allowable incidental interactions between longline fishing gear and loggerhead sea turtles to 46 (from the current limit of 17). Comments must be submitted by May 18, 2009.

2008 Shark Finning Report to Congress

Using Electronic Monitoring to Estimate Reef Fish Catch on Bottom Longline Vessels in the Gulf of Mexico

Endangered Species Research Journal Special Issue on Fisheries Bycatch

Action Items and Recent Progress Updates for Regional Bycatch Implemtation Plans Available

The Effect of Net Marking Lights on the Interaction Rates of Leatherback Sea Turtles in Trinidad's Artisanal Mackerel Gillnet Fishery

Characterization of the Shark Bottom Longline Fishery: 2008
This report describes catch and bycatch, protected species interactions, and fishing activities in the U.S. southeast bottom longline and sandbar shark research fishery for 2008

Notice of Public Hearings on IUU-Bycatch Proposed Rule

Proposed Rule to Implement Procedures to Address IUU Fishing and Bycatch
Public comments will be accepted through May 14, 2009.

Circle Hook Testing Data Template
This template is designed to provide new researchers with a workable data-collection template that identifies the various important fields for data collection that can be easily accessed for later analysis.

Bycatch Workshop at ICES Annual Science Conference (Berlin), September 21-25, 2009

Related Sites

Fishery management councils and commissions. NOAA Fisheries relies on a diverse array of partnerships to help reduce fisheries bycatch, and this site contains links to some of our most prominent partners.