AIMM Wins Award to Conduct Critical Ocean Research

The objective for this project, funded by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna (PAST), is to use drones to evaluate whether dolphin mother-calf separations occur during tuna purse seine fishing operations. 

Purse seine fishing is a technique used to target dense schools of single-species fish in the open ocean. Problems arise when the fishing gear unintentionally catches animals outside of the target population and, with dolphins, could cause mother-calf separation, which might be a source of cryptic mortality not detected by fishery observers on the decks of purse-seine vessels. As it does with all research projects, AIMM will conduct this critical surveillance mission in hopes of creating a safer environment for the planet's oceans and marine species.