Preliminary Estimates of Seabird Bycatch in the Alaskan Halibut Longline Fishery in 2013

Shannon M. FitzgeraldJennifer CahalanJason GasperJennifer Mondragon

Estimated Annual Seabird BycatchAlaskan Demersal Groundfish Fishery

Cod and Turbot Freezer longliners, Sablefish catcher vessels

The Groundfish Fleet Freezer Longliners (Catcher Processors)

Targets = Pacific Cod and Greenland TurbotVast number of hooks annually and per vessel (fewer vessels)

Catcher Vessels (shoreside)Target = sablefish (black cod)Tub gear, fewer hooks annually and per vessel (many vessels)

Freezer Longliner

Auto-bait system

Typically over 124 ft length overall

100% Observer coverage

Ca. 20,000 hooks per day

Sablefish catcher vessels

Individual Fishing Quota

Tub gear – hand baited

Generally 30% observer coverage

Hundreds of hooks per day

Courtesy IPHC

In 2013 Observations begin on a % of the Pacific Halibut Fleet

“The last great unobserved fishery in the United States”

An historic fleet – some 100 yr old halibut schooners are still fishingCourtesy IPHC

We started in 1990 ---

How did we get to a Restructured Observer Program that included monitoring of Pacific Halibut dermersal longline vessels?

It started in 1990 ---

How did we get to a Restructured Observer Program that included monitoring of Pacific Halibut dermersal longline vessels?

TMI !

Similar to Sablefish fishery

Tub gear; hand baited

Smaller vessels, large fleet

Operating out of many Alaskan ports

Courtesy IPHC Courtesy IPHC

Individual handling of fish

Targeted coverage rate =

ca 12%

Realized coverage rate =

to be determined

For background information and updates visit the North Pacific Fishery Management Council websiteCourtesy IPHC

Longline Vessels

Observed hauls

Cod Sablefish Halibut

PRELIMINARY …. Estimates of Seabird Bycatch in the Alaskan Halibut Longline Fishery in 2013

Previous work -- Annual catch rates• Groundfish fishery

• Species-specific

differences among fisheries

• Inter-annual variability

• Must look at rates and total effort

Sablefish

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

2004 (1,278) 2005 (1,358) 2006 (1,386) 2007 (1,243)

OtherBFAL

LAALAlb Unid

ShearwaterGull

Fulmar

Turbot

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

2004 (448) 2005 (509) 2006 (456) 2007 (432)

Other

AlbatrossShearwater

GullFulmar

Cod

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

2004 (10,907) 2005 (10,165) 2006 (8,287) 2007 (6,345)

Other

AlbatrossShearwater

Gull

Fulmar

Bird

s / 1

,000

hoo

ks

Fishery total effort, by year and target

Cod freezer longliners (catcher processors) dominate overall effort

Halibut fishery observations begin in 2013

Overall seabird catch rates (birds per 1,000 hooks)

* * Possible anomaly in the data.

Catch rates (per 1,000 hooks) by seabird species groups…… vessel type, fishery target, and year

Largest fishery (cod freezer longliners) the bycatch is primarily fulmars, and also gulls, and shearwaters

Highest albatross catch rates are in the sablefish and halibut fisheries, but they have much lower effort overall

*

Estimated Total Seabird Bycatch

Bycatch total numbers are dominated by the Northern fulmar bycatch in the cod freezer longline fishery

Focus on sablefish and halibut fisheries

In our first year of comparison, the halibut fishery has lower bycatch than sablefish, and lower albatross bycatch

Areas of operation, gear, and fishing depth may account for these differences

Species/Species group

Fishery Albatross Fulmar Shearwater GullUnid./Other Total

Cod 4 2,483 127 425 264 3,303

Halibut 50 0 0 123 0 173

Sablefish 382 230 0 51 0 663Total 436 2,713 127 599 264 4,139

Seabird Bycatch Estimates* from the 2013 Alaskan longline fleets

* From the NOAA Alaska Regional Office Catch Accounting System

Fishery Target

Species

TotalLaysan Black-footed Short-tailed

Pacific Cod 4 0 0 4

Pacific Halibut 0 50 0 50

Sablefish 185 197 0 382

Total 189 247 0 436

Estimated bycatch of albatross in Alaskan demersal longline fleets -- 2013

AcknowledgementsFishery Monitoring and Analysis Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Fisheries Observers, especially the first deployments to the halibut fleet

Vessel officers and crew

International Pacific Halibut Commission