Research and monitoring 2005 & Earlier
Eliminator Trawl Demonstrated at Fish Expo Atlantic 
(5/21/08)
The Eliminator is designed to target haddock and reduce bycatch of cod and other groundfish species by capitalizing on differences in fish behavior. The net has large mesh openings on the bottom and smaller mesh on the top, allowing cod, which swim downward when encountering a net, to escape, while capturing haddock, which swim upward when encountering a net.
NOAA Fisheries Northeast Protected Species Gear Research (4/29/08)
This website describes gear research projects conducted or supported by NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The website also contains links to recent reports presenting research results.
Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (4/09/08)
Prepared under the auspices of NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program and in consultation with the Nation's eight Regional Fishery Management Councils, the report provides information on steps taken by NOAA and its partners to identify, monitor, and protect deep sea coral areas.
Bycatch Reduction Database (2/13/08)
This Bycatch Reduction Techniques database was created as a resource for scientists, fishermen, and fisheries managers to have easier access to references and summaries from bycatch reduction studies, as well as descriptions of various techniques.
WWF Bycatch Reduction Website (2/13/08)
This new website aims to take fishers, consumers, and those simply concerned through the whole bycatch story, from problems to proven or potential solutions.
International Smart Gear Compeition Winners Announced (11/20/07)
A team of Rhode Island inventors has been awarded the the $30,000 grand prize in the WWF's International Smart Gear Competition. The winning invention, called "The Eliminator", captures haddock while reducing the accidental netting of other marine species. NOAA Fisheries has supported the development of this device through its Northeast Cooperative Research Partners Program, including almost $144,000 in funding for this project in 2007. Other prize winners focused on seabird, porpoise, and red snapper bycatch.
NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan for Fisheries Research Highlights Bycatch Reduction Research (11/20/07)
NOAA Fisheries has published the top science and research priorities its scientists will follow for the next three years. This plan describes conservation engineering research going on and planned in each region.
New NOAA Marine Debris Website (11/20/07)
NOAA has launched a comprehensive internet-based effort aimed at reducing dangerous marine debris. Derelict fishing gear, which is highlighted on this website, contributes to bycatch problems worldwide.
Conservation Engineering Funding Available through Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program
There are four program areas in which a single grant of approximately $1 million will be issued, including cooperative research on right whale gear entanglement mitigation strategies. With the remaining funds, NOAA Fisheries anticipates awarding 8-10 grants of approximately $100,000 to $250,000 each. Applications must be received by October 1, 2007.
Funding Available for States to Support Cooperative Conservation of Protected Species
NOAA Fisheries Service is inviting applications to support the conservation of threatened and endangered species, recently de-listed species, and candidate species. Any state that has entered into an agreement with NOAA and maintains an adequate and active program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species is eligible to apply. These financial assistance awards can be used to support management, monitoring, research, and outreach activities that provide direct conservation benefits to listed species, recently de-listed species, or candidate species within that state. Electronic applications will be accepted through September 15, 2007.
Northeast Cooperative Research Video Wins National Award
In Good Company: NOAA's Northeast Cooperative Research Partners Program video has won a coveted Telly award for 2007. Highlighting the cooperative relationships developed with the fishing industry to help guide the management of fishery resources in the Northeast Region, the video includes exciting on-the-water footage of bycatch reduction engineering research and interviews with fishermen, scientists and managers who have participated in the program.
World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), Nelson Beideman Receive NOAA Sustainable Fisheries
Leadership Awards
NOAA Fisheries developed this national award program to honor innovation and
excellence in marine stewardship. WWF will receive the Science, Research,
and Technology Award for inspiring innovation to reduce bycatch in the world's
fisheries through its Smart Gear Competition. Mr.
Beideman will be recognized posthumously for his lifetime contributions and
tireless efforts to preserve the economic viability of the pelagic longline
fleet through reduction of sea turtle and marine mammal bycatch in the fishery.
TurtleWatch
Program Helps Fishermen Avoid Sea Turtles
NOAA Fisheries' TurtleWatch program provides up-to-date information about the
thermal habitat of loggerhead sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean north of the Hawaiian
Islands. It was created as an experimental product by the Pacific Island Fisheries
Science Center's Ecosystem and Oceanography Division to help reduce inadvertent
interactions between Hawaii-based longline fishing vessels and loggerhead turtles.
NOAA Cooperative
Research Partners Program Releases DVD
NOAA Fisheries has produced a new DVD, In Good Company, that describes
recent activities of the Northeast Region's Cooperative Research Partners
Program. Several
recent studies are profiled in the DVD, including the development of a rope separator
trawl allows fishermen to capture healthy populations of haddock, while allowing
overfished cod to escape through a specially designed net.
Fishing
Gear That Could Harm Whales to Be Cleared from Cape Cod Critical Habitat
NOAA Fisheries is partnering with the Massachusetts division of marine fisheries,
the Massachusetts environmental police, and the nonprofit Provincetown Center
for Coastal Studies to locate and remove lost or illegal fishing gear in the
Cape Cod Bay and adjacent waters.
NOAA Seeks Pubilc Input on Fisheries Research Plan
The agency's Strategic Plan for Fisheries Research, first developed in
1998, covers four major areas of research, including conservation engineering
research. The plan also discusses priorities for studies on seafood
safety, bycatch and aquaculture. Comments may be sent to NSPFR.comments@noaa.gov through February 23, 2007.
North Atlantic Right Whale Funding Opportunities
The National Marine Fisheries Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation formed a partnership in 2002 to coordinate two grant programs that seek to further conservation efforts for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. This website includes links to already-completed right whale conservation research projects as well as upcoming funding opportunites as they become available.
Northeast Consortium Gear Research Stories
The Northeast Consortium encourages and funds cooperative research and monitoring projects in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank that have effective, equal partnerships among fishermen, scientists, educators, and marine resource managers. The Consortium's website includes several interesting stories about gear research, including stories on shrimp size sorting success, projects showcased at the Maine Fishermen's Forum, and an urchin escape panel study.
http://www.northeastconsortium.org/shrimp_sorting.shtml
http://www.northeastconsortium.org/maine_fish_forum_2006.shtml
http://www.northeastconsortium.org/urchin_escape_panel.shtml
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Right Whale Conservation Research
This website contains summaries of research conducted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, including analyses of different types of lobster pot lines that my reduce large whale injuries.
NOAA, Virginia Institute of Marine Science Announce Plans to Eradicate Derelict Fishing Gear in Chesapeake Bay
This project, named "Identification, Mapping and Assessment of Derelict Fishing Gear in the Chesapeake Bay," focuses on investigating the impact of derelict crab pots, also known as "ghost" crab pots, which are lost during storms or have been accidentally cut loose from their buoys by boat motors. They have a detrimental effect on the Chesapeake Bay as they continue to catch blue crabs and other important living bay resources without ever being retrieved.
Northeast Consortium Gear Research Stories
The Northeast Consortium encourages and funds cooperative research and monitoring projects in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank that have effective, equal partnerships among fishermen, scientists, educators, and marine resource managers. The Consortium's website includes several interesting stories about gear research, including stories on shrimp size sorting success, projects showcased at the Maine Fishermen's Forum , and an urchin escape panel study.
http://www.northeastconsortium.org/shrimp_sorting.shtml
http://www.northeastconsortium.org/maine_fish_forum_2006.shtml
http://www.northeastconsortium.org/urchin_escape_panel.shtml
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Right Whale Conservation Research
This website contains summaries of research conducted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, including analyses of different types of lobster pot lines that my reduce large whale injuries.
North Atlantic Right Whale Funding Opportunities
The National Marine Fisheries Service and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation formed a partnership in 2002 to coordinate two grant programs that seek to further conservation efforts for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. This website includes links to already-completed right whale conservation research projects as well as upcoming funding opportunites as they become available.
Shark-Saving Magnets Pull in $25,000 Prize for American from International Smart Gear Competition
A New Jersey inventor was awarded the grand prize in the International Smart Gear Competition for a fishing gear innovation that could save thousands of sharks a year from dying accidentally on fishing lines. The competition was created by World Wildlife Fund and a diverse range of partners to bring together fishermen, fisheries, policy, and science to find solutions to reduce bycatch. The competition's judging panel was made up of representatives from various national and international organizations including a representative from NOAA Fisheries, who served as a technical advisor.
Ed Melvin Receives 2006 Marine Stewardship Award for Bycatch Research
Ed Melvin of the Washington Sea Grant Program received the Science, Research and Technology Award for his cooperative scientific research with industry to develop innovative methods for seabird avoidance in Alaska's commercial longline fisheries. Melvin's research has helped reduce seabird bycatch by at least 80 percent in Alaska fisheries and is inspiring the global adoption of seabird avoidance methods and the innovative cooperative approaches with industry. This national award program was developed by NOAA Fisheries Service to honor innovation and excellence in marine stewardship by recognizing organizations and individuals who have advanced conservation and sustainable use of U.S. marine resources.
Proposals Sought for Southeast Region's Cooperative Research Program and MARFIN Program
NOAA Fisheries is inviting the public to submit proposals for cooperative research through the Cooperative Research Program (CRP) involving NOAA, state fishery agencies, universities, and fishermen. Proposals can address bycatch and discards in fisheries of the Southeast. CRP proposals are due August 11, 2006. NOAA Fisheries also is inviting the public to submit research and development proposals through the MARFIN program that will optimize the use of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and off the South Atlantic states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Proposals can address bycatch problems, and MARFIN proposals are due July 12, 2006.
New Fishing
Gear Targets Abundant Haddock without Hurting Over-Fished Species
Two University of Rhode Island researchers have successfully tested a new fishing
net configuration that will selectively catch the plentiful haddock without affecting
declining stocks of cod and flounder. After additional tests and review by fishery
managers, the net may allow fishermen to extend the number of days they are permitted
to be at sea.
Website Provides Information on
Collaborative Fisheries Research
This website is designed to provide information to fishermen and scientists
regarding research priorities, funding sources, and project updates to
enable collaborative fishery research.
Northeast Region’s Cooperative
Research Projects Awarded
NOAA Fisheries Service Northeast Region recently selected nine new proposals
under the Cooperative Research Partners Program (CRPP) to conduct research projects
in 2006. Funding for the projects, several of which address bycatch challenges,
totalled approximately $1 million. For more information regarding the CRPP funded
projects, contact Harry Mears at 978-281-9243 or email Harry.Mears@noaa.gov.
NOAA Fisheries National Cooperative Research Program Website
This site provides a wealth of information on cooperative research projects (many
of which address bycatch challenges) and programs around the country.
NOAA Fisheries’ Cooperative
Research Program
In FY 1999, the Northeast Regional Office of NOAA Fisheries developed the Cooperative
Research Partners Program (CRPP), formerly known as the Cooperative Research Partners Initative, to formalize and expand collaborative research
among New England's commercial fishing industry, marine science and fishery
management communities. The goal of this initiative is to enhance the data
upon which fishery management decisions are made as well as to facilitate communication
and collaboration among New England commercial fishermen, scientists, and fishery
managers. CRPP projects, among other things, aim to provide more detailed information
on fish stocks, marine habitat, and bycatch reduction through the use of more
selective fishing gears.
National Observer
Program General information about NMFS observer programs
as well as links to all of the regional NMFS observer program websites.
Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant
Program bycatch projects: Under the Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Act,
as amended, grants and cooperative agreements are awarded by NOAA Fisheries
to assist in carrying out research and development projects related
to the U.S. commercial and recreational fishing industry, including
fisheries bycatch projects.
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