Preliminary Estimates of Protected Species Bycatch Rates in the U.S. Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery Between 1 October and 31 December 2007

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. The longline fishery has a documented history of incidental takes on non-target species including billfish, marine turtles, and marine mammals. During recent years there have been elevated takes of leatherback turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, 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.