After reviewing fishing industry proposals submitted to the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, Inc. (the Foundation), 15 bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) were chosen by a gear review panel for hydrodynamic performance evaluation, tuning, and/or field certification aboard cooperating commercial fishing vessels from the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic. Two additional BRD prototypes and one gear improvement study were added to the Foundation's list for field-testing or gear modification. Only two devices were able to accumulate the 30 minimum good tows required for certification analysis. Although both prototype devices showed good red snapper reduction capabilities, more design improvements are still needed to improve their shrimp retention performance. Various environmental, operational, and BRD Certification Testing Protocol-related problems were encountered during the implementation of this project. Despite these problems, a number of BRD prototypes showed promising results in terms of their potential bycatch reduction and shrimp retention capabilities. Investigators recommended that tests on five promising devices be conducted to complete the 30 good tows required by the BRD Certification Testing Protocol.