Preliminary Study Finds LEDs, UV Lights, and C-Type Hooks May Reduce Sustainability in Aegean Small-Scale Fisheries

Marine coastal ecosystems provide a variety of habitats for biodiversity. However, they are affected by bycatch, the unintentional capture of non-target species during fishing operations such as gillnets, trammel nets, and longlines. To mitigate bycatch, modifications such as LED and UV lights in gillnets and trammel nets and C-type (circle) hooks in longlines have been studied worldwide. Yet, studies remain limited in Türkiye. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of these gear modifications in small-scale fisheries along the Aegean coast of Türkiye. Paired trials were conducted to compare standard (control) and modified (LED, UV, or C-type hook) fishing gears. Trials resulted in four sea turtles caught in LED and UV nets with no significance. Other vulnerable species caught in UV trammel nets showed significance. Overall, modified gears showed a significant reduction in commercial species catch, while increasing non-target species captures. These preliminary findings contradict much of the literature, which generally reports these modifications as effective bycatch reduction tools. The results emphasize the necessity of developing regionally adapted gear modifications and conducting more extensive experiments to validate their performance. The implementation of locally optimized bycatch mitigation tools may help achieve a balance between marine conservation and the socioeconomic sustainability of small-scale fisheries.