In 2009, excessive bycatch of endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico prompted a five-month closure of the Gulf’s longline fishery. Boat captains unexpectedly found themselves locked out of prime fishing grounds, and were forced to look elsewhere to make a living.
As it turned out, some captains fared better than others in this endeavor. And their experience has implications for fishermen today who are adapting to changing environmental and regulatory conditions.
The captains who had prioritized broadly exploring new fishing grounds in the years prior were also the ones who suffered least when the closures struck, according to a recent study that examined 540,000 position records for 2,500 trips taken by 106 vessels in the Gulf of Mexico both before and during the closure, comparing them to revenue records…