Can the Hookpod Save 300,000 Seabirds a Year?

Every year, billions of hooks are being baited by the fishing industry, aimed primarily at catching lucrative species of fish such as tuna. However, there are inevitably a large amount of seabirds which mistake the bait for food themselves, leading to the accidental deaths of an estimated 300,000 specimens per annum.

In an attempt to dramatically reduce these alarming figures, a British company has come up with an innovative new way to prevent birds from becoming hooked – the Hookpod.

A Deadly Threat to Underwater Diversity

It’s fairly common knowledge that the human race is harming not only the environment in which we live but other species which share this planet with us. In terms of marine life, the majority of this damage comes in the form of oceanic pollution - especially in places such as Asia, where wastewater treatment methods are not always up to scratch.

However, one overlooked factor in environmental damage is our fishing industry. By claiming the lives of as much as 300,000 birds per year, pelagic long-line fishing techniques are decimating certain populations.

In particular, rare breeds such as the albatross are under threat. Eight out of 22 known albatross species are now considered endangered or critically endangered. With as many as 100,000 being killed via the fishing industry every year, it’s not hard to see why.

Hookpod to the Rescue

Enter Hookpod – an inventive method of preventing birds from even coming into contact with the bait. The hook and its bait are encased inside a polycarbonate plastic pod, which remains firmly closed until the weighted pod reaches a certain depth. At this point, water pressure will release the bait from its pod, as well as activating a flashing LED light to attract the desired species of sea life.

“We are really incredibly confident that if people are using this correctly, they will never catch birds because it removes the hook from where the birds can get it,” said Becky Ingham, the chief executive of Hookpod Ltd. “It’s pretty much idiot-proof… We think it’s the answer. It’s an exciting time for us now.”

The product was tested during a number of different trials in Australian, South African and Brazilian waters. Fishermen were equipped with both Hookpods and conventional hooks – and the tallies of fish caught and birds killed were compared. While the differences between fish haul were negligible, those between accidental bird slaughter were remarkable. The conventional hooks claimed 25 avian lives; the Hookpod just one – and that was due to improper use.

“Since we have done these trials, we have only had one bird ever caught on a Hookpod and the observer on the boat actually saw the pod fly open when it left the boat so it had not been deployed correctly,” continued Miss Ingham, who is a qualified marine biologist. “Pods deployed correctly have never caught a bird.”

In fact, the results have been so encouraging that one Brazilian fishboat captain has signalled his intention to use the pods voluntarily. Celso Rocha de Oliveira explained: “In my opinion, the Hookpod is a mitigation measure more efficient than bird-scaring lines, line weighting and night setting [fishing]. It’s a pleasure to help to develop this technology, which in my point of view is the solution to preventing seabird bycatch in pelagic long-line fisheries.”

The product is expected to be reported upon imminently in upcoming journals.