Preliminary Estimates of Protected Species Bycatch Rates in the U.S. Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery Between 1 January - 31 March 2008

摘要

The U.S. Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fleet operates throughout the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean including along the U.S. coast from the Gulf of Mexico to New England, the waters of the Caribbean, and in international waters of the central North Atlantic Ocean. Quarterly reporting of interactions with protected species, including marine turtles and marine mammals, was required by the 30 June 2004 Biological Opinion. The longline fishery has a documented history of incidental takes on non-target species including billfish, marine turtles, and marine mammals. A Biological Opinion was recently developed by the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Regional Office (SERO) under the Endangered Species Act requiring several actions to be taken to improve monitoring and reduce interactions with leatherback turtles.