Sustainable fishing: Selective fishing gear
There is growing acceptance by fishing industry leaders of the need to modify fishing gear and practices in order to reduce bycatch. Proven solutions exist to both catch fewer non-target species and allow non-target species to escape - and many more are in development. Usually, the best innovations come from fishers themselves. And in many cases, the modifications are simple and inexpensive.
Our work
WWF is working directly with fisheries, governments, academia, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to find, develop, test, and implement new fishing gear that reduces bycatch.
Examples of this work include:
- Promoting existing solutions: For example, we are promoting the use of circle hooks and turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to help reduce bycatch of marine turtles on longlines and in shrimp trawls, respectively.
- Finding new solutions: WWF is working to inspire and reward new ideas for selective fishing gear through the International Smart Gear Competition. Launched in 2004 in partnership with industry leaders, scientists, and fishers, this annual competition encourages creative solutions that will allow fishers to fish smarter - better targeting their intended catch while safeguarding other ocean creatures.
- Supporting like-minded groups: WWF also supports other groups that similarly work with fisheries to test and implement new types of fishing gear, such as SeaNet (Australia), Southern Seabird Solutions (Southern Ocean), and the Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Programme (AIDCP; Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean).
Smart Gear: safer, smarter fishing
The International Smart Gear Competition looks for practical, cost-effective, and innovative designs that reduce the incidental catch and mortality of marine turtles, cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), non-target fish, and other non-target species in fishing gear such as nets and longlines.
The competition is open to all - fishers, professional gear manufacturers, teachers, students, engineers, scientists, and backyard inventors. The grand prize includes money to fund activities, such as testing and marketing, that will increase the likelihood that the idea will become widely available.
The first year of the competition produced very exciting designs. Entries were received from 16 countries, representing people from a wide range of backgrounds from each continent. The grand prize was awarded to a simple mechanism to set baited hooks on longlines at depths below 100m, in order to minimize bycatch of marine turtles by Pacific Island tuna longline fishers.
In 2006, the competition drew 83 entries from 26 countries on six continents, including Belgium, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland, Taiwan, and the US. The grand prize was awarded to a magnetic solution to reduce shark bycatch on longlines, a global problem that has decimated some shark populations. The European Commission also made a commitment to trial the winners’ innovative ideas in European fisheries.
Further information:
- Website: International Smart Gear Competition
- News: 2005 competition winners
- News: 2006 competition winners
