How many hooks on a longline

Sea birds like albatross get hooked when the lines are near the surface. The birds are then dragged under water and drowned. Bird bycatch can be reduced by measures such as bird-scaring devices and weighting the lines to make them sink more quickly.

US fishermen can avoid the migratory paths of sea turtles by sinking their long lines deeper. Large numbers of bycatch fish are reportedly caught and thrown back dead. Long line fishing catches more sharks as bycatch than any other fishing method on the high seas. Measures to reduce suffering in long line fishing. If a turtle swallows an entire hook, it can become lodged in the turtle's digestive track, thereby hindering normal feeding and digestion, resulting in starvation and possibly death.

Entanglements may lead to severe lacerations and infections caused by constriction of the lines on the turtle's soft body. Pilot whales and false killer whales are known to steal bait and or target catch from longlines and can thus be hooked in the mouth or entangled in the lines.

Risso's dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and several species of whales have also been documented as longline bycatch.

Injuries from these interactions can include lacerations, puncture wounds, exhaustion, and drowning. Gillnets generally have low environmental impacts and don't touch the seabed. Jump to section Related Pages toggle items. Fishing methods and gear types Pole and line Pots and traps Pelagic trawls Dredges. Home Our approach Fishing methods and gear types Longlines. MSC certified longline operations, such as those fishing for Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean, have employed measures such as weighted long lines that sink more quickly, and tori-lines that scare away seabirds.