National Marine Fisheries Service
10/22/2021 | Press release | Archived content
West Coast Whiting Trawl Seabird Cable Strike Meeting Announcement
NMFS announces a virtual meeting to present the results of research studies conducted on seabird cable strikes in the West Coast at-sea Pacific whiting fishery. Seabirds congregate around trawlers to feed on offal, putting them at risk of colliding with cables (trawl warps and data cables) that run aft of at-sea factory trawlers (referred to as catcher/processors). Research projects observing seabird cable strikes and other interactions, as well as testing of mitigation measures, have been conducted in the West Coast at-sea whiting fishery. NMFS will present results from these studies to inform a discussion of their application to management.
The virtual meeting will be held on December 10, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Pacific Standard Time (or until business is concluded). Instructions for attending the meeting will be provided on the web at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/west-coast-groundfish and through a public notice to be emailed out to the West Coast Groundfish Listserve. Sign up to receive West Coast Groundfish public notices at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USNOAAFISHERIES/subscriber/new. After entering your contact information, check the boxes for the "Groundfish" and/or "Pacific Whiting" topics under "West Coast Updates".