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Bycatch Fees Won't Help Seabirds, Says Study

Jessica Marshall, Discovery News

A large working group of scientists and economists in both public and private arenas is trying to develop a framework for putting offsets into practice, Donlan said. He is also the head of Advanced Conservation Strategies, a non-profit organization engaged in this work.

He said that the new study was disappointing. "They completely ignored economics, and they talk little about the realities of social politics in the high seas."

"In much of the paper they're comparing not to what is happening now, but to some lofty goal," he added.

The original study's other author, Chris Wilcox of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia's national research body, noted that if it takes 588 turtle hatchlings to equal one adult, saving hatchlings could still be a good idea if it costs 50 cents to save a hatchling and $10,000 to reduce bycatch of an additional adult.

"Offsets are the only thing you can do to go back and reduce past errors," he said. "Ultimately even new gear may kill seabirds."

The authors of the new study think bycatch offsets may have a place, but that several criteria need to be met before it should be implemented.

"The good part about [the original] paper is that it tries to present other, innovative approaches to reducing bycatch," said author Rebecca Lewison, of San Diego State University. "But there were some flaws with their case study that we couldn't let sit. If we can overcome the flaws, let's do it."

"I don't know if it has to have as much impact as bycatch reduction for it to be a good idea," she added. "We have to be protecting on beaches and we have to be protecting critters in the water."

Related Links:

Discovery News blog: EnvironMental Case

Advanced Conservation Strategies

How Stuff Works: Sea Turtles

Discovery Earth Live