Written by Steve Eayrs - Research Scientist at The Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Recently I had the pleasure of spending two days in St
John’s, Newfoundland, helping to judge entries in the 2014 WWF International
Smart Gear competition. Held every few years, this competition seeks to
encourage fishermen, scientists, and others from around the world to develop
fishing gear that reduces fisheries bycatch in commercial or recreational
fisheries. The competition provides a financial prize of $30,000 to the winning
entry and $10,000 to two runner-up entries, as well as recognition of winning
an international competition judged by a panel of fishing technology experts
from around the world. This year, two additional prizes of $7,500 were
available, one to entries that addressed bycatch in tuna fisheries and another
to entries that addressed marine mammal bycatch in gillnet fisheries.
While I am unable to divulge too much information about the
entries (winning entries will be formally announced in November) I can I can
say they were received from across the globe including, New Zealand, Australia,
Japan, Uruguay, Kenya, Finland, Norway, United Kingdom, and the USA. The
entries presented ideas, concepts, and results in bycatch reduction research using
a variety of fishing gears, some common to US fisheries, including trawls,
gillnets, pots and traps, plus some less common including set nets and purse
seines. Many entries were aimed at tackling the bycatch of teleost species,
although sharks, mammals, and sea turtles also featured prominently. The
criteria for judging the entries was based on innovation, bycatch reduction,
maintenance of target catch, overall conservation impact, and
practicality/cost-effectiveness.
Especially noteworthy this year was an entry from a Middle
school student in New Jersey. While the competition’s age limitation precluded
consideration of this entry, it was noteworthy because it was received from a school
student. The entry was also highly encouraging because the student had prepared
a very thoughtful competition entry to address a specific bycatch issue and it
demonstrated a surprising breadth of knowledge of fisheries issues.
The Eliminator Trawl - 2007 Smart Gear Competition Winner. Targets haddock while avoiding other species such as cod and flounder. Designed by Jon Knight of Superior Trawl - Narragansett, Rhode Island |
This year, competition judging was hosted by Memorial
Institute in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This institute is noteworthy for the
only flume tank in North America – a facility used to test scale model fishing
gear – which has been used for many years by US fishermen to test and develop
fishing gear. GEARNET took advantage of this facility a few years back by
funding over 20 fishermen and others from New England to attend a one-week
training course on fishing gear design, selectivity, and energy conservation.
As we have come to know only too well, staff from the institute were incredibly
warm and hospitable, and for the duration of our visit they generously contributed
to many of the meeting costs.
Unfortunately, while this competition is incredibly well
known across the globe and is providing a very real and meaningful contribution
to bycatch reduction, there is no guarantee it will continue in the future. Funding
for the competition from existing sources is becoming ever more challenging,
and limited options to source funds from elsewhere could result in its demise.
This would be an incredibly sad outcome for a unique competition, especially
when bycatch remains such a significant problem in fisheries around the world. Hopefully,
this will not become a reality.
Steve Eayrs
The judging panel consists of twelve experts in fishing
technology from around the world, including USA, Canada, Australia, United
Kingdom, and Norway.
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