A ground-breaking project is helping reduce mammal, shark and turtle entanglement in creel fishing gear in Scottish waters.
NatureScot has published a report today (Tuesday 14 Dec) on the first phase of the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) project, the first of its kind in the UK, which brings together commercial creel fishers, NatureScot, research scientists, and marine mammal conservation and rescue charities to better understand the scale and impacts of marine animal entanglement in Scottish waters.
Entanglements in fishing gear and marine debris can have both welfare and conservation impacts on marine animals, causing injury, impairment and death. Entanglement is the largest identified cause of death due to human activity in minke and humpback whales in Scottish waters, and the only known cause of human-driven mortality in basking sharks and marine turtles. During at-sea surveys, over 22% of live minke whales observed on the west coast of Scotland showed evidence of previous entanglements.
The project involved interviewing 159 creel fishers about their fishing practises and their experience of entanglements. A total of 146 entanglements over a 10-year period were reported. Only a small number of these entanglements were previously known, demonstrating that entanglements are hugely under-reported. The interviews also revealed that a wider range of species were involved than previously known.
Fishers also participated in training events and workshops to promote best practise, reduce entanglement risk, and safely disentangle large marine animals from fishing gear. This training gave fishers the ability to call on each other and safely provide a rapid response to any entangled animal.
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Posted On: 14/12/2021