Since 2019 OceanWatch Australia has partnered with the NSW Ocean Trap & Line (OTL) fishers to understand whale / fishery interactions to reduce whale entanglement in fishing gear through the East Coast Whale Entanglement Mitigation Program. In 2022 the program was extended beyond NSW to include Queensland crab and offshore net fishers and Tasmanian southern rock lobster fisheries to better assess interactions with whales along Australia’s east coast.
The program has explored gear modifications to reduce the amount of slack rope in the water column to prevent entanglement, and to reduce lost/ghost gear from shipping cut-offs. Fishers are testing the gear in different conditions, depths, habitats and gear configurations, and the systems are now able to be used both in-shore and off-shore.
This project is supported by OceanWatch Australia, through funding from the Australian Government and the Australian Government Marine Park Fisheries Assistance Extension Program.
