Conservation News
In the Business of Marine Conservation
By Kathryn Gillick
Boosting the fishing industry and saving endangered sea life are two priorities for the Central Coast, and one local man has found a way to do both.
Stan Pleskunas is part of a team that designs pingers, or devices fisherman attach to their nets to keep porpoises away. Pleskunas' pingers are keeping more and more dolphins and other porpoise species safe while giving fisherman an easy, more cost-effective way to stay within the law.
"There is so much work we can do to bring conservationists and fisherman together," said Pleskunas, a former commercial fisherman. "It's a huge, huge thing. It's important that people understand that the fisheries are in danger of being shut down by people whose hearts are in the right place."
The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires drift fishing nets to have pingers every 150 feet, alternating at the top and bottom of the net, averaging 42 pingers per net.
The problem for fisherman was the old pingers had to be attached and removed from the nets with each use. Also, the alkaline batteries used in the old pingers were sensitive to cold water and needed to be changed frequently.
Click Here for Full Story
Email this article to a friend.
|
