Pingers reduce whales caught in nets off Australia

William Atkins
Thursday, 29 October 2009 18:51

Science - Biology

The Fumunda website states, “Research indicates approximately 300,000 Porpoises, Dolphins and Whales are accidentally entangled and drown in commercial fishing nets every year.”

It adds, “At the present time, Pinger use has proven to be the most effective way to reduce the number of marine mammals lost, whilst allowing commercial net fishing to continue.” [Fumunda]

Turner talked about future plans for his pinger devices. He states, “Our whale pinger technology has applications globally and we hope to work with other stakeholders to further protect these wonderful marine mammals.”

In fact, Turner said over 17,000 Humpback whales migrate off the coast of Western Australia each year. They are forced to travel through lobster pots on their travels.

Turner added, “Our whale pingers could very easily be deployed in clusters of lobster pots to reduce the risk…. I am very keen to talk with the West Australian authorities about this opportunity.”

The use of pingers is not without its issues for people in the fishing industry. Extra work and expense is needed to use them.

However, the use of pingers is now required in many locations around the world.

In Europe, the use of pingers is enforced by the European Commission code 812/2004. In the United States, the National Marine Fisheries Service regulates the use of pingers in some areas of commercial fishing.

However, the use of pingers has been shown to significantly reduce the number of unintentional animals caught in nets and other capture devices.

According to Fumunda, commercial fishing organizations benefit from pingers. Even though it is more costly to use pingers, their use “…helps significantly reduce costs associated with the repair and replacement of commercial fishing gear damaged through entanglements.”