• New fishing gear sharply reduces seabird mortality

    Ed Melvin

    A double-weight branch line for use in the long line fishing industry won a $30,000 prize from WWF for reducing bycatch of seabirds by nearly 90 percent.

    By John Roach, Contributing Writer, NBC News

    A breakthrough design in long line fishing gear has resulted in a nearly 90 percent drop in the number of seabirds accidentally killed.

    The design by Japanese tuna boat captain Kazuhiro Yamazaki is a double-weight branch line that sinks the hooks deeper into the ocean, out of reach of seabirds such as albatrosses and petrels.

    The new system also reduces injuries to boat crews as they rapidly coil in the lines. 

    For his design, Yamazaki won the World Wildlife Fund's Smart Gear contest, which has a $30,000 prize, and $7,500 from the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation.

    Seabird mortality from the miles-long lines of baited hooks, strung out behind boats meant to lure in tuna and other high value fish, has long bedeviled the fishing industry.

    The baited hooks — which appear like a free meal — are particularly attractive to birds such as albatrosses that go on extended flights in search of food. 

    Environmental groups have pushed for improvements to the gear in order to protect wildlife, including endangered species such as sea turtles. The Smart Gear contest is WWF's nod to innovation in the industry.

    In 2010, more than 95,000 of the branch lines with the double weight system were hauled. There were no injuries to workers and a 89 percent reduction in seabird mortality with no effect on catch rates, according to environmental group.

    "The conservation potential of Yamazaki double-weight branchline is substantial," reads a WWF prize notification. "It is an innovation that meshes practicality and safety with function and conservation."

    More stories on fishing gear and wildlife:

     

    John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

     

    Kids' play has moved to tablets and PCs. In this new age, toy makers and researchers alike are sorting out the benefits — and detriments — of playful educational interaction in virtual space.

     

     

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  • Tiny GPS unit tracks bats

    The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

    Asaf Tsoar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the daughter of Prof. Ran Nathan hold one of the bats used in the study of how these mammals are able to "home in" on their designated target sites even from great distances.

    By John Roach, Contributing Writer, NBC News

    Tiny and lightweight GPS units are giving researchers a new way to track small critters, a breakthrough that could open our eyes anew on the mysterious wonders of nature.

    For example, a team of Israeli researchers recently outfitted Egyptian fruit bats with GPS units that weigh less than a half ounce (10 grams) to gain clues on how the free-ranging mammals find their way around each night to feed at specific trees, often dozens of miles away from their caves.

    The units consist of a GPS receiver that is smaller than a penny coupled with a data logger that weighs 8 grams. The data is downloaded upon recapture, or wirelessly up to 500 meters away.

    The tiny GPS units allowed the researchers to step outside the lab and conduct experiments in the complex landscape the animals navigate on a nightly basis.

    Their findings show the mammals carry around an internal cognitive map of their home range based on visual landmarks such as lights or hills, according to a paper in the August 15 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    "Although lab experiments based on distances of a meter or two had hinted at the existence of an internal map for navigation, this study is the first to show that such mammals as fruit bats use these maps to find their way around areas 100 km in size," notes a press release on the study.

    This is far from the first use of GPS to track wildlife. Collars outfitted with the technology are routinely used to study larger animals, including coyotes, jaguars and polar bears.

    GPS technology is also used to track students who skip class, sex offenders, and, secretly, the cars of citizens.

    But as the systems get smaller, smaller animals can be studied with GPS, which might be easier than the currently available radio transmitters used to track the movements of critters such as dragonflies and songbirds.

    More stories on wildlife tracking:

    John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com.