As I told you before I am on land right now, getting ready for the next trip. We're also busy preparing a workshop for the tuna longliners all about bycatch - I'm meeting the chairman of the Tuna Longline Association on Thursday.
Today the vessel which took me onboard last month came back from sea. The Chief Engineer who I appointed as the 'Bird Officer' called me and asked me to come and take one of the birds that were caught during the trip. It was a juvenile shy albatross - one of four caught during that trip.
I went to the boat which was off-loading at the harbour and had a long chat with him. Apparently they used the tori line I gave them and they improved it themselves after it broke twice. The Skipper showed me the new version and I must say it looks quite good. Interestingly, all the birds were caught on the day the tori line broke!
Unfortunately the 'Bird Officer' couldn't get all the birds as the crew threw them back into the water before he could get there. I'm sure that on the next trip that won't happen. I gave him a nice mug with a seabird logo on it as a thank-you present. He was delighted and I am very satisfied with that.
I can see a good relationship forming between this ship, which still takes birds but is trying not to, and us. We can learn a lot from them even if we are not physically on the vessel. I was invited to join them again but I am booked - but I will definitely join them soon.
I also finished writing an article about the Albatross Task Force for Torgos, the Israeli ornithology magazine. I hope it will bring more support for our work. That's all for now - speak to you soon.