NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) are collaborating on a 5-year project to “evaluate the feasibility of bycatch hotspots” via communication networks in the Gulf of Mexico. Used as a tool to help reduce bycatch, the requested data from the recreational, charter, and commercial fisheries may be used to identify areas where high bycatch is likely. In other words, voluntarily reported angler data may be used to justify closing (spatial management) waters in the Gulf of Mexico to recreational fishing. 

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