Wow, what an event it was. The event was so immaculately organised in such a beautiful country like Uruguay. I personally was elated to meet the entire Albatross Task Force (ATF) team for the first time. The event had such an awesome atmosphere with such fascinating people who possess so much knowledge and passion about the conservation of seabirds. One of the objectives of the workshop was to get an overview of the work done in 2010 by the ATF team and also discuss possible future research projects.
Words cannot begin to describe the experience I have had in Piriapolis, Uruguay. Interacting with the team was very beneficial and enlightening because the team was willing to share their experiences in their respective countries. Their extensive knowledge on seabird bycatch mitigation measures and the passion they have shown when talking about them confirmed to me that regardless of how few we are, we are indeed changing the world.
The message I went home with was that I shouldn’t stop trying to do my bit until these endangered seabirds are no longer being killed at all. The workshop left me with much pride, enthusiasm and inspiration to want to do more for seabirds.
Now all that is left for me is to start conducting my line weighting experiment in Richards Bay this month. The objective of the experiment is to investigate the effect of catch rate of target and non-target species (mainly sharks) when using a 60 gram or 150 gram Safe Lead on the branchline. Furthermore, the experiment aims to investigate the effect on the age/class size of sharks caught when using the heavier safe lead (150 gram).
I can’t wait to start, my heart won’t let me and I don’t want to wait……
The image shows Safe Leads being added to longline fishing gear during the first round of experimental trials. Photo by Meidad Goren.