Turtles as Bycatch in the Fishing Industry
What is bycatch? Bycatch is when non-target species are captured in fishing nets. These non-target species include other species of fish, but also include fresh water turtles! It may be hard to think about a fishing industry in Ontario, let alone that fishing industry negatively impacting turtle populations, but that is the reality.
A study in 2015 by Midwood et. al., investigated population-level impacts of bycatch on four freshwater turtles in Lake Opinicon, Ontario – snapping turtles, eastern musk turtles, northern map turtles, and painted turtles. Their study indicated that “in all four species, even low levels of additional annual female mortality as a result of bycatch were sufficient either to reduce population size or to cause extirpation of the local population within 500 years.” What does this mean?
The results of this study indicate that the fishing industry in Ontario could potentially result in the significant reduction or even loss of these four freshwater turtle. But it doesn’t have to. Midwood et. al. 2015, propose simple solutions to reduce turtle bycatch including 1) changing the fishing season length and/or 2) installing bycatch reduction devices that exclude turtles over a certain size. In addition to these two proposed methods, there are other methods and devices that can help reduce turtle death from being bycatch in fishing nets.
The fishing industry in Ontario isn’t out to get turtles. But like many environmental conservation efforts, there may be a lack of understanding of the importance of protecting turtles, as well as the impact of the fishing industry on turtles, that are barriers to change. A study by Nguyen et. al. 2013, talked with fishers in Ontario regarding the issue of turtle bycatch and found that there was a general lack of understanding. This study recommends that incentive programs and a grass roots awareness program, using success stories of fishers who have voluntarily modified their gear to decrease turtle bycatch, could help increase understanding and address the threat of bycatch to Ontario turtle populations.
So, why is Turtles Kingston talking about all this? It was in 2018 that Turtles Kingston received a distressed call from a local Turtle Warrior. This Turtle Warrior had come across several dead turtles on the waters’ edge where John Counter Blvd meets the Cataraqui River. These turtles showed no evidence of injury or trauma and were thought to have drowned as a result of being caught in the fishing nets at this location. A total of 12 turtles were found dead upon further investigation.
Through relentless efforts of the Turtles Kingston Administrator at the time, Mabyn Armstrong, we were able to work together with the Lake Ontario Management Unit of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to come to a solution that will hopefully reduce turtle bycatch in Ontario.
Effective May 1, 2019 the Great Lakes Ontario Management Unit have applied ‘conditions’ on Commercial Fishing Licenses in Ontario. What was once listed as voluntary best practices, would now be ‘Conditions on the Commercial Fishing License’, subject to regulation and enforcements.
So, what are these conditions?
First, it is now mandatory for the Commercial Fishers to report the numbers and species of turtles caught in their nests.
Second, it is mandatory to have flotation jugs on the nets to provide a breathing space for any turtles that do get caught. If the flotation jugs are not able to be installed (due to weather for example) they are required to lift their nets within a 24-48 hour period to guarantee the removal of any caught turtles before they succumb to a lack of oxygen and drown.
Our hope is that these regulation changes will have a measurable positive impact on turtle populations in Ontario. In addition, by mandating the reporting of turtle numbers and species caught in the nests there will be a better understanding of the impact and extent of bycatch on turtles.
Sources
Nguyen, V.M., Larocque, S.M., Stoot, L.J., Carins, N.A., Dlouin-Demers, G., Cooke. S, J.. 2013. Perspectives of fishers on turtle bycatch and conservation strategies in small-scale inland commercial fyke net fishery. Engang Species Res. 22:11-22.
Midwood, J.D., Cairns, N.A., Stoot, L.J., Cooke, S.J., Blouin-Demers, G.. 2015. Bycatch mortality can cause extirpation in four freshwater turtle species. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 25:71-80.