Estimated Bycatch of Marine Mammals and Turtles in the U.S. Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fleet during 2005 Technical memo

摘要

The U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fleet operators throughout the Gulf of Mexico, along the entire U.S. Atlantic coast over the continental shelf and slope, and in distant water areas including the central North Atlantic and the Canadian Grand Banks. The Atlantic longline fleet is defined as a Category I fishery under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and it is also the subject of management concerns under the Endangered Species Act due to interactions with marine turtles including leatherback and loggerhead turtles. Using data from the pelagic longline fishery observer program and a mandatory fishery logbook reporting program, total bycatch of marine mammals and turtles in the longline fishery was estimated for the year 2005. A delta-lognormal approach was applied to estimate region specific and total annual interactions and mortality for the fishery.