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Scientists Develop 'Floating Scarecrow' to Protect Threatened Seabirds
A floating eye buoy and kite cut seabird bycatch by 61% in two-year trials, researchers said.
- Researchers from Exeter University and Fishtek Marine developed a "Looming Eye Buoy" and "scarybird kite" to deter seabirds from gillnets, testing both devices with Cornish fishermen over a two-year period in the seas surrounding Cornwall.
- Inspired by Indian Forestry Service masks that deterred tiger attacks, scientists applied the same visual-deterrent principle to address the 95,000 annual seabird deaths occurring in European gillnets, where diving birds often become entangled and drown.
- Data showed both devices reduced bycatch risk by 61 per cent, though the kite's protection was limited to around 100 feet; the kite reduced risk by 71 per cent while the LEB reduced it by 59 per cent.
- "This technology means that fishing can continue while reducing the effects on seabirds," said Tom Hooper, senior fisheries scientist at Fishtek Marine, noting devices must remain simple and robust to fit operational needs.
- Participant Micky Bacon, a fisherman from Mousehole, Cornwall, said the trial helps publicize that "fishermen don't just want to go and catch fish, we also want to be part and parcel of improving the environment.
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Scientists put a floating ‘scarecrow’ beside fishing nets; the device cut seabird bycatch by 59%, while a kite cut it by 71%
Fishing nets can pose a serious danger to diving seabirds, but a new trial off the coast of south-west England has found that simple devices placed above
·India
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Scientists develop 'floating scarecrow' to protect threatened seabirds
New research has shown that a "floating scarecrow" developed by U.K.-based scientists and a repurposed bird-scaring kite can help save threatened seabirds from getting caught in fishing nets.
·Douglas, United Kingdom
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Leaning Left0Leaning Right1Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Center
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources are Center
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R 20%
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