Effects of fishing restrictions on the recovery of the endangered Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) population.

ABSTRACT: Over the past three decades, incidental bycatch has been the single most frequent verified cause of death of the endangered Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis). Spatial and temporal fishing closures have been enforced to mitigate bycatch, which is mainly caused by the gillnets of recreational fishers. In this study, we employed an array of statistical machine learning methods to recognize patterns of death and to evaluate the impacts of annual fishing closures (15th April-30th June) on the recovery of the Saimaa ringed seal population during 1991-2021. We additionally used the potential biological removal (PBR) procedure to assess bycatch sustainability. The study shows that gillnet restriction areas are reflected in the timing of juvenile bycatch mortality of the Saimaa ringed sea

SUBMITTER: Jounela P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11620628 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature