on species impacted, they only represent a portion of the total mortality caused by the gear. In order to estimate annual mortality, estimates of species catch rates and rate of decomposition or recycling by other animals is necessary. During the spring and summer of 2007 the Northwest Straits Initiative

Information collected over the past four years (2004-2007) during the Northwest Straits Initiative’s derelict fishing gear survey and removal program in Puget Sound, Washington, was used to estimate costs and directly measurable benefits of derelict fishing gear removal. Costs of derelict net

Since 2002, derelict fishing gear removal in the Puget Sound has focused on operations in water depths between 0 and 105 feet. Several rockfish species have accounted for some of the many fish, mammals, birds and invertebrates that become mortally entangled in derelict nets. The federal ESA listing of the canary, yelloweye and bocaccio rockfish has prompted further interest in understanding rockfish mortality and derelict fishing gear, and reducing these impacts. Removal of derelict nets in rockfish habitat at depths beyond 105 feet, where they are commonly found, would reduce the threat that derelict nets pose on rockfish populations in the Puget Sound. Online research and interviews with industry professionals were conducted to identify various methods of deepwater derelict net removals used around the world. Reported here are five methods using: ROVs, deepwater divers, grapples and trawl nets. The methods were summarized and, when needed, modified to be applied in Puget Sound. They were ranked by safety, cost effectiveness and environmental impact to assess the feasibility of each application in Puget Sound. The use of ROVs was identified as the recommended method for deepwater net removal in the Puget Sound based primarily on high safety and environmental impact ranking. Additionally, three locations for potential pilot projects to test and adjust methods and protocols were identified where deepwater derelict nets are known to exist.

[1] The connectivity among straits of the northwest Pacific marginal seas is investigated with a primitive-equation ocean circulation model simulated for 10 years from 1994 to 2003. Over the simulation interval the temporal and spatial means and variations of the model sea surface temperature

Welcome to our first e-newsletter! Hello and welcome to the first issue of the Northwest Straits Initiative newsletter! This will be a monthly publication, with distribution by email only. You’ve been added to our mailing list as a member of a Marine Resources Committee or the Northwest Straits

Abstract. High-resolution velocity and hydrographic measurements are used to provide a description of the path of the deep and intermediate overflow waters in the north-west region of the Sicily Strait. The net transport is estimated to be 1 Sv which is consistent with other studies. Evidence

Abstract- Recent hydrographic and current meter data (1981-1983) from Barrow Strait, the central part of the Northwest Passage, are used to determine water mass mixing and long-term mass and heat transports. As surface water moves from the Arctic Ocean to Baffin Bay it loses heat and gains salt

Global climate change is thawing the Arctic, opening once impassable northern waterways and presenting new challenges for Canada and the United States as maritime traffic in the region increases. A longstanding legal dispute over the Northwest Passage, the once-frozen strait running through Canada

The Icelandic Shrimp Fishery (Pandalus borealis) in the Denmark Strait in 2003 by

variability. Catches of most major fish and shellfish species off eastern Canada have centered on offshore banks but most of the continental shelf, including estuaries and embayments, from Hudson Strait to the Gulf of Maine are commercially exploited. In addition, the habitat of anadromous (e.g. salmon