Toothed whale and shark depredation and bycatch in the longline fishery of French Polynesia

Type Article
Date 2024-03
Language English
Author(s) Aminian Biquet Juliette1, 2, Tixier Paul3, Richard Gaetan4, Soehnlen Marie5, Thellier Thibaut5, Carzon Pamela1, Clua Eric1, Guinet Christophe2
Affiliation(s) 1 : EPHE, PSL Research University, CRIOBE USR3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, Université de Perpignan, 58 avenue Paul Alduy, Bât. R, 66860 Perpignan, France
2 : Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CEBC-CNRS), Equipe Prédateurs marins, UMR 7372 CNRS/Université de La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France
3 : MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, 87 avenue Jean Monnet, 34200 Sète, France
4 : Société d’Observation Multi-Modale de l’Environnement, 38 rue Jim Sevellec, 29200 Brest, France
5 : Direction des ressources marines, Fare Ute - Immeuble Le caill, 2ème étage - BP 20, 98713 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Source Fisheries Research (0165-7836) (Elsevier BV), 2024-03 , Vol. 271 , P. 106928 (12p.)
DOI 10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106928
Keyword(s) Fisheries, Elasmobranch and cetacean conservation, Depredation, Bycatch, Pacific
Abstract

Marine megafauna feeding on fishery catches (depredation) or being incidentally caught on fishing gear (bycatch) have become important issues. Their socioeconomic and conservation stakes have been increasingly studied across the world fisheries. They remain understudied in the Pacific Ocean, where longline tuna fisheries reported such interactions. In this study, we provide the first assessment of bycatch and depredation by sharks and odontocetes on longlines in French Polynesia between 2000 and 2018, using data from observers reporting, captains’ logbooks, questionnaires and additional monitoring by authors during three fishing trip. We found that less than 2% of the catch had been depredated, and that shark depredation was more common than odontocete depredation. Shark bycatch was important (20,000 sharks annually, 0.5 shark every 1000 hooks) and odontocete bycatch seemed low (13 occurrences in 18 years), though we identified clear reporting flaws. We discuss the range of uncertainty associated with our assessment, based on the current reporting systems, and the potential consequences of depredation and bycatch on tuna fisheries, as well as on shark and odontocete populations in French Polynesia.

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