A meta-analysis of operational interactions between pinnipeds and fisheries

The global recovery of pinniped populations is a conservation success. However, pinniped population recovery has increased human-wildlife conflict with fisheries, an issue often reported and requiring management, but one that lacks global synthesis. We conduct a meta-analysis to estimate the impacts of operational interactions (specifically, lost catch) between pinnipeds and fisheries. Where quantifiable interactions are reported (n = 36), on average fishers have a 33.7% chance of interacting with pinnipeds on any given fishing day, and 13.8% lost catch. We find a large degree of heterogeneity between studies, with some fisheries experiencing much more negative interactions than others. Specifically, smaller-scale fisheries using nets are up to twice as likely to have negative interactions and lose up to five times more catch compared to large-scale fisheries. We conclude that pinniped-fishery conflict is a substantial global issue, but its impacts are not uniform. To successfully manage long-term coexistence between pinnipeds and humans, explicit data quantifying operational interactions is required. Population recoveries can have unintended consequences for fisheries, and management of ecological, social and economic outcomes is needed for long-term coexistence. TeaserPinniped population recoveries have led to significant impacts on fisheries, but small-scale fisheries lose out most.