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Fishing Gear: Pelagic Longlines

Longlines consist of a mainline, gangions, and baited hooks.

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Pair of bottlenose dolphins Pair of bottlenose dolphins. Credit: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center/Lisa Morse.
A humpback mother and calf swimming off the West Coast A humpback mother and calf swimming off the West Coast. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Ed Lyman. NOAA Fisheries Permit #14682.
Oceanic whitetip shark swimming in deep ocean waters. Oceanic whitetip shark. Hawaiʻi longline fishermen use leaders to connect weighed branch lines and baited hooks. A new rule prohibits steel wire leaders in the Hawaiʻi deep-set longline fishery, starting May 31, 2022. The rule aims to increase the survival of hooked oceanic whitetip sharks caught as bycatch in the Pacific Islands region. Credit: Andy Mann
A North Atlantic right whale with propeller scars Right whale #3853 swimming north offshore of South Carolina on Jan. 20, 2011 with a series of fresh propeller wounds running across its back. The whale was observed 5 days previously offshore of Georgia without propeller wounds. It is unknown whether the whale survived its wounds or not, as it has not been re-sighted since. Vessel collisions are a leading cause of right whale mortality. Credit: EcoHealth Alliance (NOAA permit #594-1759).