Submitted Ideas

Pelagic fishing gear that only catches what we want to catch

We need to develop pelagic fishing gear that is selective, socioeconomically viable, and can be effectively used by tens of thousands of existing longline vessels in global south/developing countries. Currently, third world fishers continue to use antiquated longline technology–in the face of more responsible options – because their dilapidated boats do not have the capacity to troll fast enough to effectively deploy different gear types. Significantly reducing by-catch in a large portion of the world’s fishing fleet through technological advancements that contemplate fleet capacity would significantly improve the ecological resilience of the oceans.