WWF is calling on fishermen, gear technologists, engineers, students, inventors and anyone with creative flare to submit ideas for fishing gear designs that will reduce bycatch – the accidental catch and related deaths of marine mammals, birds, sea turtles and non-target fish species in fishing gears such as nets and longlines -- to the 2007 International Smart Gear Competition.

The competition will award a $30,000 grand prize and two $10,000 runner-up prizes to the designs judged to be the most practical, cost-effective methods for reducing bycatch.

To enter the contest, go to www.smartgear.org for more details, rules and entry instructions. All entries are due by July 31, 2007. Entries must be submitted in English.

Conventional fishing gear often does not allow users to selectively target their catch. As a result, non-target fish species, marine mammals, birds, sea turtles and non-target fish species are caught and sometimes killed. More than 20 million metric tons -- approximately 25 percent of what is caught in the course of fishing each year – is thrown over the sides of fishing boats dead or dying. There is growing acceptance by fishing industry leaders of the need to reduce bycatch. Proven solutions do exist, such as modifying fishing gear so that either fewer non-target species are caught or non-target species can escape. In many cases, these modifications are simple and inexpensive, with the best innovations usually coming from fishers themselves.

“The WWF International Smart Gear Competition aims to address one of the biggest threats to healthy marine ecosystems and related economic losses to fishermen,” said Mike Osmond, World Wildlife Fund. “We hope this competition is able to harness the creativity and ingenuity of fishermen, scientists and the public to reduce the waste caused by unselective gear.” WWF hopes to encourage sustainability in the world's fisheries, by working with all those involved - fishers, consumers, the seafood industry, and governments - to provide practical solutions to counteract the enormous environmental harm that bycatch is causing.

In its first year, 2005, the competition attracted 50 entries from 16 countries, and in 2006, more than 80 entries were received from 26 countries. An international panel made up of gear technologists, fisheries experts, representatives of the seafood industry, fishermen, scientists, researchers and conservationists judged these entries. Each entry is judged on a number of criteria including how effectively it reduces bycatch, how innovative it is, practicality, cost effectiveness, how well it maintains its target catch, and the potential conservation impact of the idea.

The winning idea in 2005 was an entry that worked to reduce the bycatch of sea turtles in the tuna longline fishery. It did this by using a simple mechanism to set baited hooks on the longline at depths below 100m. The idea is based on the observation that turtles, as well as sharks and other non-target species, are often caught on hooks above 100m, while tuna are caught on hooks deeper than 100m. This idea was extensively tested by NOAA Fisheries in Hawaiian waters during 2006, with very encouraging results.

In 2006, the winning ideas included the use of small magnets to repel sharks attracted to baited hooks, a flexible grid sorting system, and an adaptation of a bird scaring device to address the issue of seabird mortality associated with some longline fishing. In addition to awarding prizes to innovative solutions, WWF has been working with winners and partners to advance the testing of these ideas. The ultimate goal is to have successfully tested ideas implemented by relevant fisheries on a global scale.

The winners of the WWF International Smart Gear Competition will be decided at a workshop in September by a diverse set of judges, including fishermen, researchers, engineers and fisheries managers from all over the world, and announced in November 2007 at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle.