Bottlenose Dolphin Regulations

According to NMFS, there continue to be small but unacceptable numbers of interactions in the Gulf shrimp trawl fisheries with bottlenose dolphins, which are the subject of intense regulatory protection under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Apparently, these interactions involve entanglements with the trawl lazy lines used to haul-back the cod ends which result in dolphin mortality.  The SSA immediately initiated discussions with NMFS and industry gear experts to explore options for understanding and solving this bycatch problem, which could have profound regulatory implications for the fishery if not adequately addressed.