How to save a seabird

Date:  February 21, 2019

Source:  University of Washington

In the 1990s, the endangered status of the short-tailed albatross catalyzed efforts to reduce the number of birds accidentally killed as bycatch in Alaska, home to the country's biggest fisheries. Marine fisheries scientist Ed Melvin, at Washington Sea Grant at the University of Washington, and research associate Kim Dietrich, an independent contractor, were at the forefront of a collaborative research effort that led to Alaska's longline fisheries adopting streamer lines in 2002, a technology that is towed behind vessels to create a visual barrier that keeps seabirds away from the baited hooks below.

In a new study published Jan. 28 in the journal Conservation Biology, Melvin, Dietrich and partners from Oregon State University and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center show that in the time since they were adopted, streamer lines have had an extraordinary impact: seabird bycatch in Alaska's longline fisheries has been reduced by 77 to 90 percent, saving thousands of birds per year including hundreds of albatrosses.

Melvin said much of this success is thanks to the fishing industry's active involvement when the team was researching methods to avoid seabird bycatch two decades ago.

"It's really to the industry's credit that they were fully engaged in the research and started implementing streamer lines two to three years before they became mandatory," Melvin said. "The fishermen owned the solution from start to finish."

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Landmark move to protect albatrosses in the Western and Central Pacific

More protection for albatross

December 2012. The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have agreed to measures that could result in significant reductions in the deaths of albatrosses, which accidently get snagged on longline fishing hooks and then drown.

Two seabird bycatch mitigation measures

The meeting, held in the Philippines, announced that all longline vessels in the South Pacific will now be required to use two seabird bycatch mitigation measures in areas overlapping with albatrosses (South of 30S). Vessels must choose from a choice of either bird streamers, also known as tori lines, which scare birds away from the hooks; adding weights to hooks to make them sink more quickly; or setting hooks at night when most birds are less active.

The move brings the WCPFC, which is the world's largest tuna commission, in-line with the measures adopted in Atlantic in November 2011 and the Indian Ocean in April 2012.

300,000 seabirds killed in longline fisheries

Scientists estimate that upwards of 300,000 seabirds are being killed every year by longline fisheries; it's believed this is the primary reason behind 17 of the world's 22 species of albatrosses being threatened with extinction.

Albatross populations
Home to globally important populations of 14 albatross species, including Antipodean, Chatham, Buller's, Salvin's, Shy and White-capped, the Pacific Ocean is home to large fleets of longliners fishing for tuna. Tuna longliners typically deploy several thousand hooks every day, attached by branchlines to a main line that can be more than 100km long. Seabirds, especially albatrosses, are vulnerable to becoming hooked when they take the bait, and are drowned as the line sinks.

Dr Cleo Small, from the RSPB and BirdLife International, said: "This move is great news for albatrosses worldwide, including some UK albatross species such as the wandering albatross, which fly right around the world in the non-breeding period and can be victims of bycatch from the longliners that fish in the South Pacific. Without such measures, these beautiful birds could be lost forever."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/albatross-longline.html

At last! European seabirds given fresh hope

After a long fight, the European Commission has finally launched an EU Plan of Action to reduce seabird bycatch: the incidental deaths of seabirds ensnared in fishing gears.

The RSPB along with its EU partners have advocated for an action plan since 2001, when the European Commission first committed to proposing one. Since then, we estimate that over two million seabirds have died in the fishing gears of vessels in EU waters alone, not counting the additional impact of EU-flagged vessels operating in the southern oceans where bycatch is held mainly responsible for 17 out of 22 albatross species being threatened with extinction.

Martin Harper, Director of Conservation said: “We applaud the EU for finally calling time on the needless deaths of seabirds. The RSPB is ready to work together with fishing communities to put the plan into action both here and abroad.” He continued: “However, the plan is essentially voluntary and to have real teeth it needs to be underpinned with legally binding measures under the Common Fisheries Policy, in particular to require fishing boats to use the technical fixes known to avoid catching birds, and to collect data on seabird bycatch.”

Embracing simple solutions

The EU Seabird Plan of Action aims to minimise and, where possible, eliminate the bycatch of seabirds in EU and external waters. It sets out to achieve this through a range of actions, notably calling on vessels to apply mitigation measures to prevent seabirds coming into contact with fishing gears. Other key areas cover research and development, and awareness-raising and training for fishermen. The RSPB considers the plan to be best practice, drawing heavily on other regions of the world where non-EU fleets have already embraced the often simple solutions proven to stop seabirds being killed.

Of the species which are heavily affected by bycatch in European waters, three occur regularly in the UK. All three are cited as threatened with global extinction with seabird bycatch being listed as a major threat. The Balearic shearwater – a dove-sized relative of the albatross – visits the English Channel and South Western Approaches regularly in autumn and winter, while the velvet scoter and long-tailed duck are sea ducks which regularly winter along the UK’s North Sea coast.

Continued:  http://www.surfbirds.com/community-blogs/blog/2012/11/17/at-last-european-seabirds-given-fresh-hope/