Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V61
Höfundar / Authors: Dunja Jusufovski and Guðjón Már Sigurðsson
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: Hafrannsóknastofnun
Kynnir / Presenter: Dunja Jusufovski
Acoustic deterrent devices or ADDs are becoming increasingly available to commercial fisheries as a means to reduce marine mammal bycatch and minimize potential damage to fishing gear. In April 2024, first trials of three commercially available pingers were conducted in commercial setting of Icelandic bottom set gillnet fishery targeting cod which exhibits high bycatch of small cetaceans, particularly harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). For this purpose, we tested (i) the Fishtek Banana pingers (North, West, and Southeast trial sites for 7 days per site), (ii) Porpoise ALert device (PAL; North and Southeast for 7 days per site), and (iii) wideband PAL with a modified pinger signal (North site only with a duration of 14 days). The ADDs were tested with 3 commercially used mesh sizes (3 net panels per mesh size) and gillnets (total of 12 net panels). Trial results show a bycatch of predominately harbour porpoises followed by the white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), with the highest number of bycaught individuals observed in nets equipped with PALs. The most effective ADD was the wideband PAL with no bycatch recorded. Among all ADDs, only PAL equipped nets showed males as the dominant sex bycaught (11 out of 12 in total). Furthermore, only Banana pinger equipped nets reduced the quantity of fish catch, particularly cod catch. Conclusively, the results of the current trials represent a stark contrast to the trials of these ADDs performed elsewhere.