Assessment of Caspian Seal By-Catch in an Illegal Fishery Using an Interview-Based Approach.

The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) has declined by more than 90% since 1900 and is listed as endangered by IUCN. We made the first quantitative assessment of Caspian seal by-catch mortality in fisheries in the north Caspian Sea by conducting semi-structured interviews in fishing communities along the coasts of Russia (Kalmykia, Dagestan), Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. We recorded a documented minimum by-catch of 1,215 seals in the survey sample, for the 2008-2009 fishing season, 93% of which occurred in illegal sturgeon fisheries. Due to the illegal nature of the fishery, accurately quantifying total fishing effort is problematic and the survey sample could reflect less than 10% of poaching activity in the north Caspian Sea. Therefore total annual by-catch may be significantly greater than the minimum documented by the survey. The presence of high by-catch rates was supported independently by evidence of net entanglement from seal carcasses, during a mass stranding on the Kazakh coast in May 2009, where 30 of 312 carcasses were entangled in large mesh sturgeon net remnants. The documented minimum by-catch may account for 5 to 19% of annual pup production. Sturgeon poaching therefore not only represents a serious threat to Caspian sturgeon populations, but may also be having broader impacts on the Caspian Sea ecosystem by contributing to a decline in one of the ecosystem's key predators. This study demonstrates the utility of interview-based approaches in providing rapid assessments of by-catch in illegal small-scale fisheries, which are not amenable to study by other methods

Results of fishermen interviews on seal by-catch in 2009 including reports of usage of different types of fishing gear, by-catch and hunting, seal depredation and usage of seal products.

<p>Results of fishermen interviews on seal by-catch in 2009 including reports of usage of different types of fishing gear, by-catch and hunting, seal depredation and usage of seal products.</p

Comparison of by-catch rates (seals/boat/season) among seasons.

<p>N – number of reports with quantitative data; Winter-Spring: February-April; Autumn: September-November; Mean, Median and SD (standard deviation), refer to seals/boat/season; Range refers to reported minimum by-catch in the sample.</p

Map of northern Caspian showing settlements in which interviews were conducted (triangles), by-catch sectors.

<p>(UR - Ural; KU - Kulaly; KA – Kalmykia; DA – Dagestan; delimited by lines).</p

Breakdown of minimum reported by-catch in 2008–2009 by area and season.

<p>N – number of reports with quantitative data; Winter-Spring: February-April; Autumn: September-November; autumn-spring: fishing in either September-November, or after ice melt, but exact period not given; Not specified: no season information given by interviewee.</p