Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently

Shellfish aquaculture is a growing food-producing sector. The blue mussel Mytilus edulis is the primary farmed shellfish and is also a main prey for various species of sea ducks. With their large density of high-quality mussels, mussel farms attract these predators, and consequent depredation by duc...

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Autores principales:	É Varennes, SA Hanssen, J Bonardelli, M Guillemette
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Inter-Research 2013
Materias:	Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/41952298422c4bea8fc774cf636254f0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:41952298422c4bea8fc774cf636254f02021-11-17T10:04:29ZSea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently1869-215X1869-753410.3354/aei00072https://doaj.org/article/41952298422c4bea8fc774cf636254f02013-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.int-res.com/abstracts/aei/v4/n1/p31-39/https://doaj.org/toc/1869-215Xhttps://doaj.org/toc/1869-7534Shellfish aquaculture is a growing food-producing sector. The blue mussel Mytilus edulis is the primary farmed shellfish and is also a main prey for various species of sea ducks. With their large density of high-quality mussels, mussel farms attract these predators, and consequent depredation by ducks represents a substantial economic loss among mussel growers worldwide. Total exclusion with nets seems to be the only method that provides complete and long-term control of bird predation. The best nets for duck exclusion must be cost effective, efficient, easy to handle, and safe for bird populations. In order to identify the best net type, we tested 8 different nets under controlled conditions using captive common eiders Somateria mollissima, the largest sea duck species in the Northern Hemisphere. We identified a net with a maximum mesh size of 6 inches (~15 cm) and large twine size to be best in excluding common eiders considering the above-mentioned criteria. Nets with thin twine and large mesh size were more likely to cause bird entanglement. In addition to using the best nets for sea duck exclusion, it is necessary to identify a target zone where such nets are the most effective. Good knowledge of the predation problem as well as collaboration among mussel growers, bird specialists, and government authorities are essential to reduce the costs and effort of installing and maintaining exclusion nets.É VarennesSA HanssenJ BonardelliM GuillemetteInter-ResearcharticleAquaculture. Fisheries. AnglingSH1-691EcologyQH540-549.5ENAquaculture Environment Interactions, Vol 4, Iss 1, Pp 31-39 (2013)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Aquaculture. Fisheries. Angling SH1-691 Ecology QH540-549.5 É Varennes SA Hanssen J Bonardelli M Guillemette Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
description	Shellfish aquaculture is a growing food-producing sector. The blue mussel Mytilus edulis is the primary farmed shellfish and is also a main prey for various species of sea ducks. With their large density of high-quality mussels, mussel farms attract these predators, and consequent depredation by ducks represents a substantial economic loss among mussel growers worldwide. Total exclusion with nets seems to be the only method that provides complete and long-term control of bird predation. The best nets for duck exclusion must be cost effective, efficient, easy to handle, and safe for bird populations. In order to identify the best net type, we tested 8 different nets under controlled conditions using captive common eiders Somateria mollissima, the largest sea duck species in the Northern Hemisphere. We identified a net with a maximum mesh size of 6 inches (~15 cm) and large twine size to be best in excluding common eiders considering the above-mentioned criteria. Nets with thin twine and large mesh size were more likely to cause bird entanglement. In addition to using the best nets for sea duck exclusion, it is necessary to identify a target zone where such nets are the most effective. Good knowledge of the predation problem as well as collaboration among mussel growers, bird specialists, and government authorities are essential to reduce the costs and effort of installing and maintaining exclusion nets.
format	article
author	É Varennes SA Hanssen J Bonardelli M Guillemette
author_facet	É Varennes SA Hanssen J Bonardelli M Guillemette
author_sort	É Varennes
title	Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
title_short	Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
title_full	Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
title_fullStr	Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
title_full_unstemmed	Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
title_sort	sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently
publisher	Inter-Research
publishDate	2013
url	https://doaj.org/article/41952298422c4bea8fc774cf636254f0
work_keys_str_mv	AT evarennes seaduckpredationinmusselfarmsthebestnetsforexcludingcommoneiderssafelyandefficiently AT sahanssen seaduckpredationinmusselfarmsthebestnetsforexcludingcommoneiderssafelyandefficiently AT jbonardelli seaduckpredationinmusselfarmsthebestnetsforexcludingcommoneiderssafelyandefficiently AT mguillemette seaduckpredationinmusselfarmsthebestnetsforexcludingcommoneiderssafelyandefficiently
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Sea duck predation in mussel farms: the best nets for excluding common eiders safely and efficiently

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