Fishery Notice

The Department has completed the process for a regulation amendment to section 8
(1) of the Pacific Fisheries Regulations in order to allow for the use of LED 
lights in the shrimp trawl fishery. Section 8(1) of the Pacific Fisheries 
Regulations now states: "No person shall use torches or artificial lights to 
attract or repel fish unless they are fishing for shrimp with a trawl net or 
for squid".  This amendment to exempt the shrimp trawl fishery from the 
previous prohibition within this section was published on May 29, 2019.

Published scientific research from Oregon, USA has demonstrated that use of LED 
lights (Lindgren Pittman Electralume LED fishing lights) properly placed on 
shrimp trawl gear has led to significant reductions in by-catch of non-target 
species (especially endangered Eulachon). The Oregon study published by Hannah 
(2015) in Fisheries Research 170 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165783615001514) states 
that reductions in Eulachon by-catch in the order of 90% were observed compared 
to non-use of the lights.
  
In 2017 the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in partnership with the 
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission conducted additional studies with 
funding from the By-catch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP) to determine the 
most effective use and placement of the lights. As a result, the US commercial 
shrimp trawl fisheries in Oregon State, Washington State, and California have 
moved to make the use of these LED lights mandatory in their fisheries as part 
of their National Marine Fisheries Services Eulachon recovery plans. A summary 
of the optimal design is outlined in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 
Pink Shrimp Review for 2018 -  
https://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/shellfish/commercial/shrimp/docs/29th_APSR_2018.
pdf  
 
Although no comparable studies have been conducted in Canadian waters, the 
offshore habitat and species composition for Oregon and British Columbia is 
fairly similar, and DFO  expects similar results as those in the US studies.

It is important to note that the US studies also indicated that the improper 
placement of the LED lights can have the opposite effect and increase by-catch 
rates, thus it is very important for all BC Shrimp Trawl vessels choosing to 
use the LED lights to fully understand the best orientation and placement for 
the lights, and to follow best practices.
 
The Department and the Shrimp Trawl Sectoral Committee would like to work 
together to share information for the best practices towards introducing this 
new by-catch reduction technique to the fleet. The use of LED lights in the BC 
fishery is optional, however, the Shrimp Trawl fisheries in Oregon and 
Washington have developed rules in their fisheries that may serve as best 
practices for vessel masters in the BC fishery who decide to use LEDs.

A summary of the Rules Established for the Oregon State Fishery:

Oregon Administrative Rule 635-005-0630: 
3) It is unlawful to fish with trawl gear for pink shrimp for commercial 
purposes unless footrope lighting devices that have been approved by the 
Department are used in each net. A list of approved footrope lighting devices 
is available from the Department. Footrope lighting devices must meet the 
following criteria: 
(a) Lighting devices must be operational; 
(b) Lighting devices must be securely attached within 6 inches of the forward 
leading edge of the bottom panel of trawl netting; and 
(c) Each trawl net must have a minimum of five lighting devices, spaced 4 feet 
apart in the central 16 feet of each net.
Regarding "approved footrope lighting devices" we are starting with a list of 
three devices which have been tested to be effective in by-catch reduction. For 
2018, these include: 
1) Lindgren-Pittman "LP Electralume light"- Green 
2) Catch All Tackle "Deep Drop LED fishing light"- Green 
3) Rock-engineering "LED rope light"- Green 

The Department and the Sectoral Committee would like to encourage all vessel 
masters to contact your commercial licence holder sectoral representative to 
discuss best practices and ideas for improvements to the use of this new 
technology in the fishery. DFO would like to work with fishers and the sectoral 
committee over this next year to develop best practices for the use of the LED 
lights that will be the most effective for the BC Shrimp Trawl Fishery.  

For further details and management changes for this season or for further 
information contact:
South Coast: Dan Clark 250-756-7327
North/Central Coast: Coral Keehn 250-627-3021 or Steven Groves 250-627-3455
Fraser River: Marisa Keefe 604-666-6390

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0493
Sent June 3, 2019 at 1023

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