Hi everybody!
I have good news from Brazil. The Brazilian Ministries of Fisheries and Environment signed a new law, that means any pelagic longline vessel fishing below the 20° S must now use tori lines during all setting operations and include a weight of at least 60 g placed no more than two meters from the hook. This is a direct result of ATF research! We showed that putting weights close to the hook, makes the line sink faster and consequently out of the reach of seabirds.
The toriline recommended for the law is 130 m long, and is made of a 100 m nylon monofilament line with one metre long colored streamers attached every two metres, plus a towed device, that keeps line tension. This toriline configuration is very similar to the light toriline designed and used by ATF Brazil during the experiments on mitigations measures last year.
No bird was caught during our experiments while tori lines were in use. The combination of 60-75 g weights placed at two metres from the hook and a tori line eliminated seabird attacks on hooks within the first 75 m from the vessel stern. The law is in effect as of last week, so several vessels are now building the appropriate tori line support poles and building the tori lines. Some also have to change the position of the weights on their branch lines. As a consequence, I am helping many boat owners at the moment, and I have been working a lot in the Rio Grande port, providing instructions about the configuration of poles and tori lines. This gives me a very good opportunity to spend some important time with the fishermen, working together to mitigate seabird bycatch and contributing to the fisherman’s awareness about seabird and marine environment conservation.
However, not every fishermen is willing to follow the rules. Some of them think that the modifications will negatively affect the target species catch, or that night settings alone is enough to avoid seabird captures: Or they simply don’t like anyone telling what do to on their own boats!
This situation is a trypical challenge that we face every day during our work in port. Fortunately there are few fishermen resisting these positive changes in Brazilian fishery regulations. This intense work with fishermen also helps us to find vessels and captains that are cooperative so that we can continue conducting our experiments on mitigation measures.
Next week I head out again on board the FV Maria. When I return from the sea I will let you know the news!
I have recently done three consecutive at-sea trips in order to test mitigation measures that reduce seabird by catch, so I have a lot of stories to tell! The trips were aboard the 18 m long, wooden longliner Anarthur. The Anarthur’s skipper is called Darke, who works in collaboration with Projeto Albatroz and project Tamar (a local sea turtle conservation group). Captian Darke adopts mitigation measures like the tori line and uses circle hooks to reduce sea turtle bycatch.
On this occasion we set out at night from port Itajaí, Santa Catarina, and headed out to the south. Darke was searching for large shoals of tuna. Our trip began in turmoil, with bad sea conditions, very cold weather and rain almost every day, complicating the tasks on board. The combination of strong winds, cold air and rain, resulted in a terrible wind chill, giving the impression that your hands and nose were frozen!
Captain Darke recognises the marine conservation issues we are working on and is one of the skippers in Brazil who has an appreciation for the environment. In order to help reduce seabird bycatch he always begins setting operations at around 4 am, and deploys a tori line.
One of the most positive points during these trips was the interest of the crew in using the new tori line design. One day captain Darke asked me, in a very polite way, if it would be possible to keep our tori line on board after I leave the boat. I told him that new tori line was a gift from Projeto Albatroz, and, in addition, we would give him another replacement one! To my delight he was really happy with this.
For me this was a perfect example of the genuine interest that many fisherman have in reducing seabird bycatch, and the acceptance of this mitigation measure. This is a direct result of ATF instructors working very close with industry in ports and at sea.
During three trips on board the FV Anarthur no birds were caught during setting operatons, although we did catch birds during the haul, which were safely returned to sea.
Broken boatI was content as everything was going well on board the FV Anarthur, however, on the last trip during the last line haul before we were to return to port, the main motor simply stopped. After this the auxiliary motor, which is responsible for maintaining the water pump, also broke. Just when we thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, four of the five batteries that keep the electric lights working failed, plunging the entire vessel into darkness.So, we were stranded, without a motor to control the vessel or pump water from the bilges and in complete darkness at night. The westerly winds blew for two days, pushing us many miles out to sea.
The crew divided into two groups, taking turns to manually pump the water out of the boat. When the wind turned easterly, the crew improvised a sail and used the wind to sail the boat back toward the coast.
After seven days drifting, another vessel finally answered our distress call and came to rescue us. We were towed back to port and arrived safely after 39 days at sea.
So, that’s it my friends. I hope you enjoyed the story!!!
Unfortunately seabirds caught as byctach in pelagic longline fisheries are generally only brought onboard once they are already dead (they are hooked and drown during the set when lines sink into the water). In Uruguay birds killed at sea are returned to the laboratory for analysis. By doing so we can recover valuable information that helps us identify the problem and ultimately work to improve their conservation.
During the last three weeks I received carcasses from four fishing boats that anchored in the port of Montevideo after fishing trips of about two months each. Fortunately, very few birds were captured, mainly White-chinned petrels and shearwaters. An important observation to note is the very low proportion of albatross.
Prior to these vessels leaving port, I provided them with and configured their tori lines (see image below). This work was done in cooperation with the National Observer Programme, which places an observer on board each vessel. The tori line, created by the ATF team in Uruguay (Projecto Albatros y Petreles – Uruguay), was used by ships throughout the duration of the fishing trip. In conjunction with strict night setting, this measure is producing results that benefit seabirds.
Some fisheries in the Southern Hemisphere dedicated to fishing for Patagonian toothfish have significantly decreased the mortality of sea birds, using tori lines and night setting. One of the main results of the use of this combination of measures is the reduction of albatross bycatch. The remaining bycatch is mainly White-chinned petrels and shearwaters.
It is more complicated to prevent White-chinned petrel bycatch because of their deep diving capabilities and their nocturnal habits, which makes them particularly susceptible during the full moon when ambient lighting is sufficient for them to spot and dive down for baited hooks. This is a point where we need to complete more work to decrease the minimum catch of all species of seabirds.
Along with Martin process all birds that are brought to the laboratory. This process takes several days. However, it is extremely worthwhile as we learn a lot about these species. We record sex, morphometric measurements, analyse the moult stage, take genetic samples and collect stomach contents.
All this information provides us with information about the origin of the birds (which archipelago they come from), what kind of birds are captured (age and sex) in the region which gives us an idea of the impact of our local fishery. It is also important to understand what areas these birds are travelling to and what they are feeding on.
All this can be supplemented with information obtained at sea or in the breeding colonies, all critical information if we are to conserve these species.
Hello friends of the seabirds!
I am back from field work to tell you about another adventure from Projeto Albatroz, this time on board the Gera IX vessel from port Itajaí, Brazil. Our journey begins at the Jorge Seif Fishing Company of Itajaí, from where we hauled anchor with fishing master Juninho (Ju-nee-nyo) and steamed south towards the Rio Grande coast, in search of large shoals of swordfish, sharks and tuna fish.
Image: The Gera IX of Jorge Seif Fishing Company, port Itajaí.
Our main objectives on board the Gera IX were to encourage the use of a tori line and to experiment with weights placed closer to the hook (two metres instead of the normal five metres). Some studies demonstrate that weights placed at a distance of two meters from the hook increases the sink rate of the fishing gear, thereby taking the baited hooks out of reach of the seabirds faster.
Image: Fishing crew members build the new fishing lines to hold weights at two metres, Port Itajaí.
In addition to improving the mitigation measures on board the Gera IX, I took time to explain a little more about the magnificent birds they were helping to protect. Environmental education on board makes it clear to the crew the importance of developing a responsible fishing method, which does not affect the fish catch but eliminates the capture of seabirds. A win-win situation!
During the days that I was on board, I was accompanied by White-chinned petrels, Spectacled petrels, Greater shearwaters, Atlantic petrels, Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross, Black-browed albatross and Wilson's storm petrels. Thanks to the mitigation measures and a bit of luck, not a single bird was caught this trip, demonstrating the efficiency of a suite of best-practice mitigation measures.
Image: Seabirds attending the vessel during the sea trip off Rio Grande, Brazil.
As the trip came to an end we headed for the port at Rio Grande after nineteen days at sea having sampled 12,850 hooks that go toward our experimental work to protect seabirds.
Albatross Task Force forever!!
When we are on board, we often see commercial shipping waste dumped into the sea. In general this includes food scraps and cardboard used by the crew but sometimes pieces of plastic that is very harmful to the marine environment is dumped. There are different materials that are permitted to be discarded at sea, depending on the area where the vessel is working, but dumping plastic is prohibited under any circumstances in any location. It is recognised that a plastic bottle will not degrade for over 450 years at sea.
On my last trip, I remember one day when the sea was very calm and it was possible to enjoy the weather despite being in such a typically fierce area as the seas to the south of Staten Island. The number of birds in the area was high. Among them were solitary species like the Wandering and Royal albatross, grey-headed albatross and the most abundant in that area, the Black-browed albatross plus good numbers of Giant petrels.
I was conducting a bird abundance count from the stern of the vessel and I could see that boxes, garbage bags and plastic containers had been tossed into the water on the port side. It seemed very unusual to have so much plastic thrown into the sea. The vessel was just starting to set baited hooks and the birds, apart from being attracted to the bait, came to investigate the waste dumped. It was clear that this could be fatal for the birds that were nearby.
It gives you a feeling of helplessness watching to see if the birds will ingest the plastic debris, mistaking it for food. It also provides a challenge to explain to the crew that this waste is very dangerous for all marine life.
I waited a few hours and then went to speak with the captain. I asked him if he had given permitted plastic waste to be disposed of at sea. I explained that many birds swallow plastics, such as pieces of cigarette lighters or plastic fishing line. My intention was to raise awareness and cause small changes in attitude that can protect seabirds. I then went direct to the crew members that manage the waste, normally the galley crew. I approached the subject of how to handle waste at sea.
During the rest of the journey I was relieved to see that no more waste was thrown in the water! When you spend such a long time living in close quarters with other people, you can and should attempt to change behaviours that threaten seabirds and other life in the marine ecosystem, that is everyone’s’ job.
The image shows a Cape petrel that was blown on board resting amongst some of the plastics that were stored over the rest of the trip. All plastics should be stowed and unloaded for correct disposal when vessels arrive in port.