A practical framework to evaluate the feasibility of incentive-based approaches to reduce bycatch of marine mammals and other protected species

Fisheries bycatch is one of the biggest threats to marine mammal populations and an important conservation and management problem worldwide. Conventional marine mammal bycatch mitigation approaches typically rely on top-down, command-and-control regulations that often fail to create desired incentives for fishers to avoid bycatch. There is growing recognition of the need to explore alternative approaches that encourage behavioral change through the creation of an appropriate set of incentives – both economic and social – towards bycatch reduction. This study introduces a practical framework that aims to evaluate a range of dimensions related to the feasibility and durability of incentive-based approaches to mitigate marine mammal bycatch. We use this framework to examine seven case studies where incentive-based measures have been implemented or proposed, demonstrating both its applicability in a variety of contexts and usefulness in ex-ante assessment of alternative bycatch mitigation options. Our analysis underscores important operational aspects to consider in implementing such approaches, including the need for fine-scale data collection, the importance of a credible threat such as a fishery closure or loss of market access, the involvement of fishers in solution development, and the pivotal role of collective organizations in addressing marine mammal bycatch issues which almost always are complex and multi-faceted.