Improving the effectiveness, efficiency and safety of mitigation tools for protected species interactions in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery

The Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF) encompasses the eastern half of the Australian fishing zone from the tip of north Queensland to the Victorian/South Australia border. The main fishing gear is pelagic longlines that can be up to 70kms in length and are deployed in surface water habitat appealing to large pelagic fish. While the main target is billfish and tuna, pelagic longline fishing gear interacts with Threatened, Endangered and Protected (TEP) species, particularly seabirds, turtles, sharks and toothed whales. While the ETBF has a good record of successfully applying a range of mitigation techniques to a high standard, mortalities of TEP species still occur and improved technologies show promise that may reduce interactions further. However, there are safety issues, economic costs and technical limitations to the current suite of mitigation tools making the exploration of new technologies and the refinement of current ones highly desirable. This investment will trial several new and/or modified protected species mitigation tools and processes in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery to further reduce the rate of protected species interactions, determine the cost effectiveness of new and/or modified mitigation tools and processes and improve crew safety through revising the design and deployment of protected species mitigation equipment.