SharkGuard: The World’s First Commercially Effective Shark Bycatch Mitigation Device

据估计，每年有1亿条鲨鱼在无意中被商业渔业捕获，威胁着鲨鱼物种的灭绝，并干扰了正常的捕鱼作业。众所周知，副渔获不仅会影响野生动物，还会给渔业造成巨大损失。这是因为鲨鱼可以吓跑渔场瞄准的鱼类，比如金枪鱼。此外，当鲨鱼不小心被鱼钩钩住时，它会损坏渔具，减少可能被捕获的目标鱼的数量。目前还没有解决这个紧迫问题的办法。现在，一家名为Fishtek Marine的英国公司正在开发SharkGuard；这是一种全新的、改变游戏规则的装置，它安装在鱼钩上，利用电脉冲来阻止鲨鱼，同时不干扰捕捉无法探测到电场的目标物种。2019年，在地中海与SharkGuard进行的海上试验表明，在典型的商业延绳钓渔业中，鲨鱼副捕获量减少了100%（尽管基于有限的总体鲨鱼样品量）。然而，在现场使用SharkGuard的渔民遇到了一些实际困难，他们报告说，由于该设备的尺寸、水中重量和靠近钩子的位置，目标物种的捕获率降低了。这笔资金将支持关键的研究，以提供解决这些挑战所需的新知识。这将使第二阶段原型机的开发成为可能，并通过计划中的海上试验研究统计确认其有效性，以确保原型机符合技术和商业要求。SharkGuard将有利于保护和全球捕鱼业，同时发展我们的业务，巩固我们的全球声誉。相对便宜和方便使用，SharkGuard有潜力成为第一个也是唯一一个真正有效的鲨鱼副渔获缓解技术，为世界延绳钓行业。无数鲨鱼将得到拯救，联合国可持续发展目标的若干目标也将得到支持。与此同时，捕鱼业也将从中受益，在五年内，英国公司Fishtek Marine将增加27名员工，增加300万英镑的营业额，并巩固其在减少副渔获物技术方面的世界领先地位。

Every year an estimated 100 million sharks are inadvertently caught in commercial fisheries, threatening shark species with extinction, and interfering with normal fishing operations.Bycatch, as this problem is known, doesn't just affect wildlife: it costs fisheries a lot of money. That's because sharks can scare away the types of fish that fisheries are targeting, such as tuna. In addition, when the sharks get accidentally caught on the hooks it damages fishing gear and reduces the number of target fish that might otherwise be caught. Currently there is no solution to this urgent problem. Now, a British company called Fishtek Marine is developing SharkGuard; an entirely new, game-changing device fitted to fishing hooks which uses electric pulses to deter sharks, whilst not interfering with the catching of target species which can't detect this electric field.In 2019, sea trials with SharkGuard in the Mediterranean demonstrated a 100% reduction in shark bycatch in a typical commercial longline fishery (albeit based on a limited overall shark sample size). However, fishers using SharkGuard in the field encountered some practical difficulties and reported a reduction in catch rates for target species which we found was due to the device's size, in-water weight, and positioning next to the hook. This funding will support critical investigations to provide the new knowledge required to resolve these challenges. This will enable development of a second stage prototype and statistically confirm its efficacy through planned sea trial research to ensure the prototype fits both technical and commercial requirements. SharkGuard will benefit both conservation and the worldwide fishing industry, while growing our business and cementing our global reputationRelatively inexpensive and convenient to use, SharkGuard has the potential to become the first and only truly effective shark bycatch mitigation technology for the world's longline fishing industry. Countless sharks will be saved and a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be supported. Meanwhile, the fishing industry will benefit and, within five years, Fishtek Marine, a British company, will hire an additional 27 staff, boost turnover by £3 million, and reinforce its profile as a world leader in bycatch reduction technology.