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Anna Brown
Researchers from Bangor University in Wales, UK, have recently identified a simple technique involving artificial light, that can reduce unwanted catch by up to nearly half. The study, published in March 2020 in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, tested the impact of LED lights on the number of haddock and flatfish caught in a queen scallop fishery off the Isle of Man. Lucy Southworth, lead author of the study, said: “Traditionally, and this goes back decades and maybe even centuries, fishers used lights to attract fish. We are turning that on its head to try and manipulate the behavioural responses in fish and other animals, to either repel them away from gear, or to manipulate their behaviour so they can escape from the net.” The researchers worked with startup tech company SafetyNet Technologies Ltd to test the effects of attaching their LED lights to specific parts of a trawl fishing net. Differences in catch were then compared between:
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