24/01/2005 – WWF-US, together
with partner organizations, is sponsoring
an international fishing gear competition
to reduce marine bycatch.
The International Smart Gear Competition is
aimed at encouraging fishermen, scientists,
and acadmemics to come up with innovative
fishing gear to reverse the decline of vulnerable
marine species — including sea turtles, dolphins,
and whales — accidentally caught in nets and
other fishing devices.
“We have entries from 16 countries, representing
people from a wide range of backgrounds,"
said Karen Baragona, deputy director of the
WWF-US Species Conservation Program.
"Many of the entries are from fishermen,
which isn't surprising considering they have
produced so many of the bycatch solutions
that are already out there.”
Some of the entries include: glow-in-the-dark
ropes that may protect whales in Atlantic
waters; rotating drums made in Mississippi
that presumes the natural tendency of fish
to follow a moving pattern; seabird-proof,
"hidden" bait for long-line fishing
vessels designed by Dutch inventors; and a
simple 3-inch bamboo ring designed to keep
dugongs from entering Philippine fishing nets
“This kind of participation, from every continent,
was exactly what we were looking for when
we launched the competition," Baragona
said.
"Accidental bycatch is a global problem
and it will take a multi-national collaboration
to defeat it.”
The grand prize winner — to be chosen from
a panel of 15 international judges — will
receive an award of US$25,000. Two runners-up
will be selected and awarded prizes of US$5,000
each. Winners will be announced March 9th
in Washington, DC.
The winning entry will receive assistance
from WWF to make the idea commercially available.
Notes:
• The International Smart Gear Competition
was created by WWF-US in May 2004, to bring
together partners representing fisheries,
policy, and science to find solutions for
the problem of accidental catch of non-target
species. Participants responded by submitting
ideas for ways to reduce the unnecessary deaths
of whales, dolphins, porpoises, dugongs, sea
lions, seals, manatees, sea turtles, sea birds,
and non-target fish species.
• The competition's judging panel includes
representatives from:
*American Fisheries Society
*Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources,
Memorial University of Newfoundland
*Fisheries Conservation Foundation
*Hubb-Sea World Research Institute
*Institute of Marine Research in Norway
*Inter-America Tropical Tuna Commission
*Marine Wildlife Bycatch Consortium (comprised
of the New England Aquarium, Duke University,
the University of New Hampshire and the Maine
Lobstermen’s Association)
*National Fisheries Institute
*New Zealand-based Sealord Group, Ltd.
*SeaNet (an extension service for fishermen
in Australia)
*Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center
*U.K. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and
Aquaculture Science
*U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization
*U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
*University of Rio Grande in Brazil
*World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US)
