The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has the opportunity to help authorize deep-set buoy gear to catch swordfish off the West Coast. This innovative new gear reduces the unwanted catch of marine animals – such as whales, dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles – known as bycatch.
After 4 years of research and a successful year of fishing with experimental permits, swordfish caught via deep-set buoy gear is ready for the market. But it's up to us to ensure the CDFW gets the job done.
Less Waste: Deep-set buoy gear has been tested extensively by scientists and fishermen. In fact, by the time it's allowed, this gear will have had over six years of testing. Buoy gear boasts a 94 percent marketable catch rate, meaning that almost all of what is caught can be kept and sold. This is an increase compared with current methods of fishing for swordfish, which can ensnare endangered whales, leatherback sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, and many imperiled species of fish.
Good for Fishermen: Deep-set buoy gear also results in a high-quality product that earns a better price for fishermen than swordfish caught using drift gillnets or longlines as each swordfish is landed and put on ice within minutes of being caught. These fishing trips tend to be shorter allowing buoy-caught swordfish to reach the market much sooner.
Ask CDFW Director Chuck Bonham to keep deep-set buoy gear authorization on track so that fishermen can ensure less waste and higher-quality seafood.
Dear Director Bonham:
I am writing to encourage you, along with your designees to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), to keep the authorization of deep-set buoy gear on track this year. By taking this action, the PFMC can help to meet its stated commitment to reducing bycatch, as outlined in its draft Swordfish Fishery Management and Monitoring Plan from September 2015.
Californians take pride in managing natural resources sustainably. However, many are surprised to learn that off the West Coast, hundreds of animals are unnecessarily entangled and killed by drift gillnets – an indiscriminate form of fishing gear targeting swordfish and thresher sharks.
Fortunately, better alternatives are available. Deep-set buoy gear uses a hook-and-buoy system that enables fishermen to drop their hooks as deep as 1,200 feet to reach swordfish during the day. The gear boasts a 94 percent marketable catch rate, meaning that almost all of what is caught can be kept and sold. Buoy gear has been tested by scientists and cooperating fishermen with minimal bycatch of non-target species and a consistent catch of swordfish. In fact, if buoy gear authorization stays on track, it will have received six years of extensive testing on the West Coast by the time it is allowed on the water.
Deep-set buoy gear has other benefits as well. Fishermen are able to catch and put the fish on ice quickly, so swordfish caught with buoy gear is of the highest quality. This means a higher price for innovative West Coast fishermen and a tastier, more sustainable choice for consumers.
By working to authorize deep-set buoy gear, California can uphold its reputation as a champion of conservation while supporting sustainable fisheries for our coastal communities. Please work with the California members of the PFMC to ensure the authorization of this gear type in the California swordfish fishery.
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