SBIR Phase II: A new sustainable crustacean bait.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project promises to deliver a convenient, sustainable, cost effective, and environmentally friendly bait for crustacean fishermen, worldwide. The patent- pending innovation offers a formulated, synthetic product that mimics scent cues released from traditional fish bait, while offsetting unwarranted ecological impacts of current practices. Specifically, scent cues can be released at variable rates to provide optimal results in addressing fishing methods and preferences in different conditions and regions. Given rising costs of fish due to competition with omega-3 supplements producers, as well as labor and frozen storage costs of obtaining wild bait, and vessel space needed for such bait when fishing, the new bait will save fishermen time, money, and inconvenience. Commercially, cost advantages are likely to generate significant demand in addition to the overall practical advantages. From a societal perspective, a sustainable, synthetic product can dramatically reduce "net fishing" for baiting crustacean traps. Thus, fish could be conserved in the oceanic food chain, and indiscriminate killing of sea turtles, dolphins and other by- catch would be diminished through reduced net fishing practices now employed in the capture of small wild fish traditionally used for crustacean bait. The objectives of this Phase II research project are: to optimize solubility kinetics of the attractant-releasing matrix; further characterize naturally occurring molecules released by traditional bait fish; and validate product performance to catch indigenous crustacean species in the United States. Field research would focus on concentrations of chemo-attractants required to optimize manufacturing formulation and direct costs. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity will be the characterization of the chemical basis for cues emitted by piscine, avian and mammalian tissue that most intensely attract crustacean species while developing a range of matrix formulations for optimally releasing such attractants in various fishing conditions. In addition to globally urgent considerations of by-catch and wild stock depletion, the industry has been struggling with bait sustainability issues. These challenges have intensified with federal and state agencies seeking court orders to regulate catch limits, resulting in reduced supply and higher prices of bait fish. These circumstances frame an ecological and commercial opportunity for this synthetic bait alternative. Reducing the need to capture wild bait fish, as well as delivering cost and logistical advantages to commercial crustacean fisheries are expected to drive rapid market penetration upon completion of product research and development in this Phase II project.