Robust estimates of the relative efficacies of alternative management interventions are essential for developing evidence‐informed fisheries bycatch policy. Bycatch is a major threat to the conservation of albatrosses and other pelagic seabirds. Branchline weighting is one approach prescribed by regional fisheries management organisations and the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels to reduce seabird bycatch in pelagic longline fisheries. We used a Bayesian multilevel network meta‐regression modelling approach to conduct the first synthesis of available evidence to assess the relative efficacies at mitigating seabird bycatch of alternative pelagic longline weighting designs. Unlike conventional pairwise meta‐analysis, network meta‐analysis enables the simultaneous comparison of multiple interventions within a coherent modelling framework. There was a > 97% probability that all weighting designs significantly reduced seabird bycatch compared to a reference design with no weight within 5 m of the hook. Nonetheless, some weighting designs were significantly more effective at reducing seabird bycatch than others—for instance, the 2 designs with weights >60 g and >1 m from the hook performed the best with >93% probability that those 2 designs performed significantly better than 2 more commonly used designs with less weight but attached closer to the hook. These two best performing designs reduced seabird bycatch by ca 89% relative to the reference design. These relative efficacies and rankings, when combined with other performance criteria such as costs to commercial viability and crew safety, support robust evaluations of alternative bycatch management strategies.

中文翻译：

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综合海鸟兼捕缓解措施的证据网络


对替代管理干预措施相对效果的稳健估计对于制定循证渔业兼捕政策至关重要。兼捕是对信天翁和其他远洋海鸟保护的主要威胁。支线加权是区域渔业管理组织和《信天翁和海燕养护协定》规定的一种方法，旨在减少中上层延绳钓渔业中的海鸟兼捕。我们使用贝叶斯多级网络元回归建模方法对现有证据进行首次综合，以评估替代中上层延绳钓加权设计在减少海鸟兼捕方面的相对功效。与传统的成对荟萃分析不同，网络荟萃分析可以在连贯的建模框架内同时比较多种干预措施。与吊钩 5 m 范围内没有配重的参考设计相比，所有配重设计都有 > 97% 的概率显着减少了海鸟兼捕。尽管如此，一些加重设计在减少海鸟兼捕方面明显比其他设计更有效，例如，距离钩重量为 >60 g 和 >1 m 的 2 个设计表现最好，这 2 个设计的表现明显优于其他设计，有 >93% 的可能性。 2 种更常用的设计，重量更轻，但距离钩子更近。与参考设计相比，这两种性能最佳的设计将海鸟兼捕减少了约 89%。这些相对功效和排名与其他绩效标准（例如商业可行性成本和船员安全成本）相结合，支持对替代兼捕管理策略的稳健评估。