Group has ideas to prevent Hawaii dolphin bycatch

— Fishermen who use longlines to catch ahi, mahimahi and other fish off Hawaii should use a different kind of hook so they don't accidentally severely injure or kill a rare dolphin species, a federal advisory group said.

Longline fleet captains should undergo training on how to release any mistakenly caught false killer whales in a way that minimizes the chance they'll be seriously harmed, the group told the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency responsible for regulating the fishery.

The agency had asked scientists, fishermen, conservationists and regulators to form the advisory group and make recommendations.

It acted in response to data showing the fleet is accidentally killing or seriously injuring an average of 7.4 false killer whales each year. This exceeds the 2.5 per year that the population can lose without hurting its ability to sustain itself.

Scientists estimate about 120 of the dolphins live in waters up to 60 miles off Hawaii's coasts. A few hundred more live close to Hawaii in waters farther out.

The animals tend to get caught by longlines because they eat the fish that fishermen have snagged for human consumption: yellowfin tuna, mahimahi, and ono.

"People have known that false killer bycatch in the fleet has been an issue for about 10 years," said Robin Baird, a research biologist at Cascadia Research Collective and a member of the Take Reduction Team. "The fact that we came to consensus is great."

The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to compile a list of proposed regulations after reviewing the recommendations. The agency will ask the public to comment on its proposals before completing any new rules.

The advisory group, in a report submitted Monday, recommended the longline fleet use circle hooks instead of straighter Japanese-style tuna hooks.

The team believes false killer whales are less likely to get caught on the circle hooks. They also believe those that do get caught on them are more likely to be able to wiggle free.

It's recommending that boat captains attend training sessions on the least harmful ways to cut hooked false killer whales free.

Another idea would close a fishing area north of the main Hawaiian islands year-round instead of just for eight months a year. Many false killer whales are found in this area known as the Northern Exclusion Zone, which is also a rich tuna fishing ground.

Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association and an alternate team member, said the recommendations were reasonable given the limited information the group had on false killer whales. He's looking forward to seeing the results of a new federal study, planned for this fall, on the size of the false killer whale population off Hawaii.

He said the longline industry wouldn't wait for the fisheries service to complete new regulations before it started changing some of its practices. The longline association would begin training boat captains and urging fishermen to use circle hooks right away, he said. Martin estimated about half the fleet currently uses circle hooks.

"The sooner we can prove or disprove the effectiveness of the measures that the team has put forward, the better off we are as an industry," he said.

The species is particularly vulnerable because false killer whales don't reproduce quickly or frequently. They're known to start calving at around 15 or 16 years old, and spawn roughly every seven years.

The Take Reduction Team made its recommendations Monday after four meetings and multiple e-mail messages and conference calls over a six-month period.

The Associated Press