Existing knowledge about each fishery is stored in a database included in the software, and may be easily modified.
The best choice will depend on the value and underlying biology of each fishery, and in some places they may not work at all.
Markus Knigge, a fisheries policy adviser to the Pew Environment Group, said that while final positions are not yet clear, it seems that some countries are hoping to draw out the negotiations on each fishery over many years.
Robust plans for each fishery should set the appropriate timeline for specific measures to eliminate discards, taking into account the best available scientific advice on what will be most effective.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers joined environmental groups, some fishing interests and scientists to insert language in the law requiring each fishery to have annual catch limits in place by the end of 2011 to end overfishing.
Restrictions could vary with each fishery, according to a NOAA biologist, Kim Damon-Randall, who indicated that while the listing would take effect soon, the limits would be phased in over a period of years.
The scientists said that another danger to turtles is that they are managed on a fishery-by-fishery basis, which means that bycatch limits are set for each fishery without accounting for the overall population impacts of all the takes added together.
To explain the reason for the increases we examined trends in fishing effort for the five main longline and trawl fisheries with a history of interactions with seabirds; the extent of overlap between the fisheries and albatross foraging ranges; and albatross bycatch rates for each fishery.
