Blogs

When we were defining our annual work programme in Chile we were keen to maintain a link with the community, beyond that of the fishing industry. In fact, we have always strived to extend the information about seabird bycatch and albatross conservation to the public in general. As such we decided...

These are the fabric floral wreaths made during the most recent 2-part Christmas craft workshop. Don’t they look fabulous? There’s still a chance to book on the last of the workshops on Friday, December 9 either at 1pm or 7pm during which we will be making a Kanzashi style tree decoration...

I have just returned from a very exciting and fun-filled few days in Sedgefield and Mossel Bay. For those of you not from South Africa, these towns are located along our east coast, and apparently Mossel Bay has the second best climate in the world! My colleague and I took a comfortable 5-hour drive...

A friend of mine who is a motor mechanic was amazed when this bird really attached itself to him-we thought it was a siskin but not sure it was quite happy under the cars and eventually they had to put it outside.What a feeling of trust.

Hello to all albatross fans! We don't just speak to fishermen at sea. Most fishermen spend long periods of time at-sea and as there are only a few ATF instructors around, we try to meet them in between their trips. Albatross Task Force South Africa has for the last three years been conducting...

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...

For albatrosses there are no frontiers, and neither for the ATF During the Albatross Task Force's early history and until now we couldn't have a meeting to discuss the mitigation measures and the best strategies to reach the main goal which is save the seabirds. It was therefore amazing to hold...

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...

I have been on dry land! The whole Albatross Task Force team in Chile - that's Dr Carlos Moreno, Rodrigo, Humberto, Oli and myself - have been working closely together. We don't often get this chance as we are based in different locations in Chile. We got together to meet the industrial...

I have been meeting people and filling up my brain with lots of info in readiness for my new task. I can say that I understand the fishing industries and their impacts on seabirds better. I have learned more about the important fishing areas in Chile, the different fishing techniques used for the different...