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I recently returned from a routine Albatross Task Force at-sea trip onboard a conventional wet fish trawl vessel in Argentina (fish are stored on ice, but not frozen like on the larger freezer vessels). The trip lasted a total of 16 days and fishing was concentrated around 300 km east of the Valdéz...

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...

Last month we had a special visit in Mar del Plata from ATF Chile! After a long trip by plane, ferry and bus Cristián Suazo arrived in our city with the objectives of perfecting onboard safety protocols, discussing the various fishing operations onboard trawl vessels and going over the available...

In April a ‘Friends of the Albatross’ event was held by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International at the Scott Polar Institute in Cambridge. The event brought together more than 80 albatross enthusiasts who gathered to hear the latest news from Cleo Small, Euan...

Two weeks ago, when the vessel was fishing close to the Isla de los Estados , something strange happened. After having observed the morning haul, I went back to my cabin for a wash before lunch and was startled to find a bird that we are not used to seeing way out on the open ocean. It had neither...

After a long wait my voyage on a demersal (bottom) longline vessel finally set out for a trip that will last over three weeks, sailing from the port of Ushuaia. I was delighted to find that this boat is very comfortable, with internet, LCD TVs and even a gym! Not something you find on most ATF trips...

I am waiting for a trip on a longline vessel, heading off next week to Ushuaia to kick start the investigation into the longline fishery to reduce the bycatch of seabirds by implementing mitigation measures. In this case I have the job of trying out the efficiency of a tori (bird-scaring) line onboard...

From the 30 th November to the 2 nd December 2010, the ATF in Argentina and the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata -CONICET organised the second intensive observer training course for Indentification and Recording of Seabird Interactions with Fisheries. The course was intended for fishery...

At this time of year in the southern hemisphere you can enjoy a stroll along the harbour and, in the evening, watch the vessels gently roll in with their ice boxes full of fish as they arrive to the bustling activity of the port. Over the last week I’ve been dedicating my work to this peasant...

The other night, while onboard a stern trawl vessel, I found a Thin-billed prion on deck. These birds don’t often come close enough to the fishing vessels that you can get a good look at them so it was really interesting to find one. It had flown into the side of the bridge in the blustery weather...

The last trip I went on was from Puerto Madryn, in the South of Argentina. The crew was completely new to me, as is often the case when you visit a new port, but they all knew Leo Tamini so they were quite aware of what my work involved. This is great as I was received warmly and allowed to carry on...

A couple of days ago both Nahuel Chavez and I set out on a coastal trawler from the port of Necochea. Our intention was to try out our new tori line that we have built for the few longline vessels that operate in Argentina, and also to test the latest model of the Tamini Tabla (first called the Surf...

Our trips at-sea don’t always turn out to be happy experiences, and we don’t always achieve our objectives when we get onboard a vessel. My last sea-trip was testament to this. It began in Puerto Madryn from where many Argentinean trawler vessels weigh anchor. We set off on May 4 and sailed...

As my most recent trip on a trawl vessel started, we left the port of Mar del Plata into an enormous storm. However, I felt pretty good about everything and kept my thoughts to the task in hand. The trip took us back to the same fishing area that I visited last time, but the target species had changed...

After a couple of months working in the laboratory and carrying out tests on small vessels the great day arrives. I am to join a large industrial trawl vessel to try out the performance of the tori lines and the Tamini Tabla under commercial fishing conditions, and on exactly the kind of vessel this...

I’m telling you about my first at-sea experience as ATF Instructor on a freshie trawler (the catch is stored fresh on ice) departing from Mar del Plata in October 2009. During the first trip, about 5 days of work, I understood how to apply the at-sea protocol in my new job. I was very nervous before...

I have recently returned from sea and I would like to share the experience I had on a coastal trawler. Last Friday I was waiting for the call from the skipper of the Don Domingo to allow me to test some innovations on our ‘ surfboard ’ design (our special device that helps keep tori lines...

I met my room mates during the first days of the trip: Héctor, the second official (he sails the vessel in the night) and Juan, the first mechanic, one of the persons in charge of the engine room. The crew was composed by six officials, three cooks, four technical personnel, one nurse, 24 sailors...

After a 14 hour bus journey from my home, I arrived to Puerto Madryn harbor in Chubut province. This city is very famous because is close to Peninsula Valdez. Every spring more than 600 southern right whales arrive to give birth and breed. After making several administrative arrangements, I boarded...

During the last few weeks, we have been working on-shore on a variety of tasks including activities with fishers, fishing companies and governmental representatives. After two trips on the Sirius III, a 60 metre 'fresh' trawler (which keeps its catch on ice), we have been arranging a trip on...

During the last few weeks, we have been working onshore on a variety of activities with individual fishermen, fishing companies and governmental representatives. Following two trips on the Sirius III, a 60-metre 'fresh' trawler (which keeps the catch on ice), we have been arranging a trip...

Less than 24 hours after I sent my first diary, I finally received a long awaited call allowing me to board the FV Sirius III, a 60 metre-long 'freshie' trawler ship. I left the Mar del Plata port on 26 April at 6 pm. We started the voyage with a hard swell and the skipper Ruben Rodriguez, who...

I have started to work as an Albatross Task Force Instructor in Argentina. This is a project co-ordinated by the Seabird Programme of Aves Argentinas and local researchers. The aim is to educate crew who work on the bottom trawler vessels. The warp cables on these boats drag the whole catch up through...