A RFA-funded, in-depth study of the most common bycatch species landed by the deep-sea trawling industry has resulted in a three year collaboration, in the form of a signed Fisheries Conservation Project (FCP), between the South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA) and WWF-SA. The collaboration will dramatically improve the data collection for, and the management of, bycatch species like angelfish, panga and jacopever.
The goal is to ensure there is better recording at drag level and that catches are sorted, accurately tallied and reported. Such information will help scientists at DAFF to extract accurate catch data for each of seven priority non-target species and, in time, the top 12 non-target species landed by the fishery. This will ultimately improve their sustainability status on the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI) list.
Attached below is the research paper on the study and the Fisheries Conservation Project (FCP) work-plan.
Attachments
- RFA Offshore Byctach Project (1.2 MiB)
Improving the WWF-SASSI sustainability rating of key non-target species from the hake offshore trawl sector - SADSTIA/WWF-SA Offshore Trawl Bycatch FCP Workplan (219.3 KiB)
The South African Offshore Trawl Bycatch Fishery Conservation Project (FCP)