Seabird bycatch estimates for Alaska groundfish fisheries : annual report, 2015

"Seabirds are unintentionally caught in commercial fisheries off Alaska; this unintentional catch is referred to as bycatch. Federal law requires bycatch be minimized to the extent practicable, and specific modifications to fishing gear and practices are required by Federal regulation to reduce seabird bycatch. Off Alaska, most seabird bycatch occurs in fisheries using hook-andline (primarily longline) gear. Compliance with seabird avoidance regulations has decreased seabird bycatch by thousands of birds in fisheries using demersal longline gear off Alaska; however, hundreds (often thousands) of seabirds are still taken as bycatch in the fisheries each year. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) annually updates estimates of seabirds caught as bycatch in commercial groundfish fisheries operating in Federal waters off Alaska. This annual report provides detailed seabird bycatch estimates by gear type for the years 2007 through 2015 and supplements "Seabird Bycatch and Mitigation Efforts in Alaska Fisheries Summary Report: 2007 through 2015" (Eich et al. 2016). This report presents estimates from the gear types hook-and-line (specifically demersal longline), pot, pelagic trawl, and non-pelagic trawl. The estimates provided here do not apply to gillnet, seine, troll, or jig gear"--Introduction. doi:10.7289/V5/TM-F/AKR-13 (http://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-F/AKR-13)] [Eich, A.M., S.M. Fitzgerald, and J. Mondragon]. "December 2017." Also available in print format. Includes bibliographical references (page 14-15). 2017 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) AKR (Alaska Region) Submitted http://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-F/AKR-13 Public Domain 1864