The goal of this project is to reduce or eliminate killer whale mortalities and serious injuries caused by net entanglements in the A80 deep-water flatfish trawl fishery through continued…

The University of Alaska Fairbanks received a $197,595 cooperative agreement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472), effective May 1, 2025 through October 31, 2026. This agreement supports the second phase of a multi-year project to reduce killer whale mortalities and serious injuries caused by net entanglements in the A80 deep-water flatfish trawl fishery in the Bering Sea. Deliverables include conducting a second flume tank evaluation to refine net barrier gear modifications based on first-season performance data, collecting acoustic, video, and visual data on killer whale behavior and gear modification effectiveness during summer 2025 fishing operations, performing comprehensive data analysis, and preparing manuscripts documenting findings and recommendations.

The project builds on preliminary fieldwork conducted in 2023-2024 with support from the Alaska Seafood Cooperative (AKSC), NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office Protected Resources Division, and the Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center. This cooperative research initiative demonstrates the program's emphasis on partnerships between the fishing industry, federal scientists, and academic institutions to develop innovative bycatch reduction technologies and advance sustainable fisheries management objectives in Alaska marine environments.

The goal of this project is to reduce or eliminate killer whale mortalities and serious injuries caused by net entanglements in the A80 deep-water flatfish trawl fishery through continued development and implementation of a gear modification. Research on this project began with fieldwork aboard an A80 trawl vessel fishing for deep-water flatfish in may 2023, during which PI H. Myers collected acoustic and visual observations of killer whale behavior around the vessel and net. This fieldwork was funded by the alaska seafood cooperative (AKSC), the fishing cooperative for the A80 fleet. In march 2024, with assistance from A80 captains and net makers we evaluated the size, shape, and positioning of different net barrier gear modifications at a flume tank, also supported by AKSC. The final version of this net barrier will be implemented across all vessels participating in the bering sea deep-water flatfish fishery beginning in may 2024. In spring and summer 2024, collected additional acoustic, video, and visual data of killer whale behavior and gear modification performance, supported by the NOAA fisheries alaska regional office (ARO) protected resources division and the pollock conservation cooperative research center (PCCRC). The funding requested from the NOAA bycatch reduction engineering program (BREP) will support the second phase of this project, including (1) a second trip to the flume tank to update or make design changes to the gear modification following the first season of deep-water flatfish fishing, (2) data collection aboard vessels fishing with a second-generation gear modification in summer 2025, (3) full analysis of 2025 data, and (4) manuscript writing.