Rory Lines
WHAT ARE RORY LINES?
Rory lines are designed to reduce seabird strikes with trawl cables. A simple and cost-effective strategy, similar in design to bird-scaring lines, vertical streamers are deployed off either side of the vessel, attached to a boom extending out over the water. This creates a physical barrier to seabirds who could otherwise fly into the trawl cables enter whilst feeding on offal discards. Designed to enhance the effectiveness of bird-scaring lines, this simple addition has been demonstrated to be effective.
Source: Rice 2012
CURRENT RESEARCH & USE
Currently an area of active research, the Rory line has been trialled in the South African hake trawl fishery following its invention by a skipper in the demersal trawl fleet. These trials in 2011 and 2012 found that seabird cable collisions were reduced by up to 84%.
This page was last updated on 12.02.21.
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