3.4. Developing a DFT management strategy
It is clear from this synthesis that there are important gaps in our scientific knowledge of the impacts of DFTs. There are also important variations in local or regional regulations that impact DFTs. A few policies attempt to limit loss by regulating where fishing can occur, such as those in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland where blue crab fishing is only allowed in the main stem of the Chesapeake. Other fisheries have requirements designed to limit how long a trap is likely to continue to fish once it becomes derelict. In the Dungeness crab fishery, for example, trap exits are required to be closed with rot cord, which decays and allows exit doors to open in approximately six months, limiting the amount of time that lost traps will remain fishing (AK Department of Fish and Game, 2012). As the data presented here suggest, however, even with preventative policies ghost fishing remains a widespread, complex, and spatially variable challenge for which there is not likely to be a single solution. As a result, we developed a DFT Management Strategy that outlines both research and policy opportunities for reducing DFTs and their impacts. This strategy includes a number of measures including mechanisms and incentives to prevent and reduce the loss of traps, improved trap construction and innovations like biodegradable panels to reduce ghost fishing, and derelict trap retrieval efforts. Additional research in these areas may demonstrate other ways of harvesting these species that would have fewer impacts. The strategy has several components, including “Opportunities for Reducing Loss” and “Opportunities to Reduce Impacts,” with each section including policy and/or research suggestions. Box 1 is a summary of our strategy recommendations.