Blogs

I was recently invited by the International School to give a talk to their students about my work - a brilliant opportunity as many of the kids have parents involved in the fishing industry. In fact, my invitation came about because two of the senior students had done a project about a year ago on...

It's a great pleasure for me to tell you what is going on in Namibia at the moment, especially on the side of the longline fleet. Since February 2009 I have been organising a trip with one of the hake longline vessels so that we can get a better idea of the contact this fleet has with seabirds. I...

We have been operating for a year now and have a made some progress on getting a handle on what is happening in the Namibian hake trawl fishery. I have not been out to sea recently, but am hoping to rectify this soon as the office becomes tedious compared to life at-sea! 2009 got off to a brilliant start...

My name is Kaspar Shimooshili; I have studied a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources specializing in Fisheries and Aquatic Science at the University of Namibia. I am the second Albatross Task Force Instructor in Namibia tasked to work with the hake longline fishery. Previously, I have worked for...

Hi everybody. My name is John Paterson and I am the first Albatross Task Force Instructor to be based in Namibia. I have been tasked to work with the hake trawl fishery in Namibia and a second Instructor is to be recruited to work with the hake longline fishery. This is all new and exciting for...

It seems ages ago now, but it was in April last year that Samantha Petersen and I sat down one evening to draft the proprosal to set up an Albatross Task Force (ATF) in Namibia. The death rate of seabirds in Namibian waters is unacceptable. Last year, a report, The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem...

There are only two commercial harbours in Namibia: Walvis Bay to the north and Luderitz in the south. Sandwich harbour, a former fishing port, is now a proclaimed Ramsar site (i.e. a site designated for international protection due to its wetland wildlife importance). But, Walvis Bay is where we are...

After the trip to Namibia in October where we learnt from interviewing skippers that seabird bycatch may be a problem, we decided to head back and continue what we had started. Now it was time to go to sea and see what really happens there. I spent four weeks in the town of Luderitz in southern Namibia...

We have 75 confirmed attendees for the hake longline workshop this week, which includes boat owners, skippers, crew and representatives from Marine and Coastal Management. I’m looking forward to building a relationship with this group. Currently, this type of longline sinks very slowly, and the...