Preliminary Study of Dolphin Release Procedures Using Model Purse Seines

摘要

Model fishing nets have been used for many years as an inexpensive aid to improving various types of fishing gear. The first model purse-siene studies carried out by the National Marine Fisheries Service (then the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries) were directed towards improving the overall efficiency of the purse seine. A model purse seine designed for studies relating to the tuna-dolphin problem and was built in 1972 at the Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of model purse seines in the design and testing of dolphin-rescue gear and procedures. Of primary interest was the behavior of the models during normal and modified backdown procedures. The effects on performance of various gear malfunctions, such as webbing becoming tangled in the purse rings, were also examined.