Dataset Information

Toothed whale and shark depredation indicators: A case study from the Reunion Island and Seychelles pelagic longline fisheries.

ABSTRACT: Depredation in marine ecosystems is defined as the damage or removal of fish or bait from fishing gear by predators. Depredation raises concerns about the conservation of species involved, fisheries yield and profitability, and reference points based on stock assessment of depredated species. Therefore, the development of accurate indicators to assess the impact of depredation is needed. Both the Reunion Island and the Seychelles archipelago pelagic longline fisheries targeting swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and tuna (Thunnus spp.) are affected by depredation from toothed whales and pelagic sharks. In this study, we used fishery data collected between 2004 and 2015 to propose depredation indicators and to assess depredation levels in both fisheries. For both fisheries, the interaction rate (depredation occurrence) was significantly higher for shark compared to toothed whale depredation. However, when depredation occurred, toothed whale depredation impact was significantly higher than shark depredation impact, with higher depredation per unit effort (number of fish depredated per 1000 hooks) and damage rate (proportion of fish depredated per depredated set). The gross depredation rate in the Seychelles was 18.3%. A slight increase of the gross depredation rate was observed for the Reunion Island longline fleet from 2011 (4.1% in 2007-2010 and 4.4% in 2011-2015). Economic losses due to depredation were estimated by using these indicators and published official statistics. A loss of 0.09 EUR/hook due to depredation was estimated for the Reunion Island longline fleet, and 0.86 EUR/hook for the Seychelles. These results suggest a southward decreasing toothed whale and shark depredation gradient in the southwest Indian Ocean. Seychelles depredation levels are among the highest observed in the world revealing this area as a "hotspot" of interaction between pelagic longline fisheries and toothed whales. This study also highlights the need for a set of depredation indicators to allow for a global comparison of depredation rates among various fishing grounds worldwide.

SUBMITTER: Rabearisoa N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6086455 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Toothed whale and shark depredation indicators: A case study from the Reunion Island and Seychelles pelagic longline fisheries.

Rabearisoa Njaratiana N Sabarros Philippe S PS Romanov Evgeny V EV Lucas Vincent V Bach Pascal P

PloS one 20180810 8

Depredation in marine ecosystems is defined as the damage or removal of fish or bait from fishing gear by predators. Depredation raises concerns about the conservation of species involved, fisheries yield and profitability, and reference points based on stock assessment of depredated species. Therefore, the development of accurate indicators to assess the impact of depredation is needed. Both the Reunion Island and the Seychelles archipelago pelagic longline fisheries targeting swordfish (Xiphia ...[more]

PMID: 30096170

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Project description:The conservation status of several pelagic shark species is considered vulnerable with declining populations, yet data on shark fishing mortality remain limited for large ocean regions. Pelagic sharks are increasingly retained by mixed-species fisheries, or are discarded and not reported by selective fisheries for tunas (Thunnus spp.) or swordfish (Xiphias gladius). We estimated the fishing mortality of sharks (landings plus discard mortalities) in a South African-flagged pelagic longline fishery with diverse targeting and discard behaviour. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to stratify the fleet according to the relative proportions of tunas, swordfish, blue sharks (Prionace glauca) and shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) landed by individual vessels between 2013 and 2015. A spatial analysis of logbook data indicated that subfleets operated in distinct fishing areas, with overlap. Approximately 5% of all commercial longlines set during 2015 were sampled by a fisheries-independent observer, and the species, discard ratios and physical condition at discard of 6 019 captured sharks were recorded. Blue sharks and shortfin makos dominated observed shark catches, which were comprised of nine species and two species groups. Some 47% of observed sharks were retained and 20% were discarded in good physical condition. Only 4% of shortfin makos were discarded, compared to 68% of blue sharks. Blue shark discard mortality rates were twice as high as published at-vessel mortality rates, suggesting that onboard handling, among other factors, contributed to discard mortalities. Extrapolation to total fishing effort indicated a near 10-fold increase in blue shark and shortfin mako fishing mortality compared to an earlier study (1998-2005). Escalating shortfin mako fishing mortality was attributed to increased targeting to supply higher market demand. Discarding of blue sharks by selective fishing for tunas and swordfish had a greater impact on their fishing mortality than retention by shark-directed fleets. Higher levels of observer sampling are required to increase confidence in discard ratio estimates.

Project description:Over the past five decades, marine mammal interactions with fisheries have become a major human-wildlife conflict globally. The emergence of longline fishing is concomitant with the development of depredation-type interactions i.e., marine mammals feeding on fish caught on hooks. The killer whale (Orcinus orca) is one of the species most involved in depredation on longline fisheries. The issue was first reported in high latitudes but, with increasing expansion of this fishing method, other fisheries have begun to experience interactions. The present study investigated killer whale interactions with two geographically isolated blue-eye trevalla (Hyperoglyphe antarctica) fisheries operating in temperate waters off Amsterdam/St. Paul Islands (Indian Ocean) and south-eastern Australia. These two fisheries differ in the fishing technique used (vertical vs. demersal longlines), effort, catch, fleet size and fishing area size. Using 7-year (2010-16) long fishing and observation datasets, this study estimated the levels of killer whale interactions and examined the influence of spatio-temporal and operational variables on the probability of vessels to experience interactions. Killer whales interactions occurred during 58.4% and 21.2% of all fishing days, and over 94% and 47.4% of the fishing area for both fisheries, respectively. In south-eastern Australia, the probability of occurrence of killer whale interactions during fishing days varied seasonally with a decrease in spring, increased with the daily fishing effort and decreased with the distance travelled by the vessel between fishing days. In Amsterdam/St. Paul, this probability was only influenced by latitude, with an increase in the southern part of the area. Together, these findings document two previously unreported cases of high killer whale depredation, and provide insights on ways to avoid the issue. The study also emphasizes the need to further examine the local characteristics of fisheries and the ecology of local depredating killer whale populations in as important drivers of depredation.

Dataset Information

Toothed whale and shark depredation indicators: A case study from the Reunion Island and Seychelles pelagic longline fisheries.

Publications

Toothed whale and shark depredation indicators: A case study from the Reunion Island and Seychelles pelagic longline fisheries.

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