Abstract

National Standard 9 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act [As Amended Through January 12, 2007 (Section 104-297)] states that: Conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, (A) minimize bycatch and (B) to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality of such bycatch. The St. Thomas Fishermen’s Association (STFA) undertook projects with partners such as MRAG Americas and NMFS to characterize fisheries and bycatch (Olsen et al., In preparation) for the dominant fisheries in the northern US Virgin Islands (USVI). Following those studies, collaborative research was undertaken to reduce bycatch and bycatch mortality in the fish trap fishery of St. Thomas. This paper summarizes efforts to relate fish behavior to escape vent efficiency in releasing thin-bodied bycatch species from traps. Highlights of fishermen’s participation in the research and evaluation of vent effective-ness are also being presented (Olsen et al., This volume).

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