Predicted bycatch of harbor porpoises under various alternatives to reduce bycatch in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic gillnet fisheries

"To reduce the bycatch of harbor porpoises in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic commercial gillnet fisheries, five different management alternatives have been proposed in an Environmental Assessment to revise the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (HPTRP). The purpose of this manuscript is to evaluate the expected impacts of each alternative on the harbor porpoise bycatch. For each alternative, a range of both expected bycatch rates (observed harbor porpoise takes per observed metric tons (mtons) of landings) and expected fishing effort (mtons landed) were predicted, and the total predicted harbor porpoise bycatch was derived as the product of these two metrics. Other than the status quo alternative, predicted bycatch estimates for all of the proposed alternatives were below the Potential Biological Removal (PBR) level. The preferred alternative (Alternative 4) in the post-trigger time period generated the lowest predicted annual bycatch (275 to 470 porpoises), while the status quo alternative (Alternative 1) generated the highest (1,063 animals per year)"--Abstract. by Debra L. Palka and Christopher D. Orphanides. "August 2008." Includes bibliographical references (page 24).