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Last month I returned from my most recent trip, this time aboard on the FV Maria , the same longliner that I had worked with last winter. We spent 19 days at sea and conducted 15 longline sets. In order to minimize seabird interactions all these sets were performed with a tori line deployed and were...

In my most recent trip to sea, we set off for a period of eleven days from the port of La Paloma, located on the east coast of Uruguay. We had already partaken in various trips on this vessel, and so the crew already knew us well and they were happy to collaborate with our work again. We now have a much...

This last trip to sea was onboard a vessel dedicated to catching swordfish and tuna. My goal was to continue experimenting with the tori lines we have been designing and testing in pelagic fisheries in Uruguay. We conducted seven fishing operations, three with a tori line and four without. Despite...

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...

Continuing with the tori line experiments in the pelagic longline fishery, I headed back to sea but this time aboard the RS Aldebran, Uruguay’s research vessel. On this last trip we spent 20 days at sea, with a short break at the start due to a faulty hydraulic pump forcing us to return...

During my last trip I continued experimenting with the Uruguayan ATF tori lines that we are developing, trying to obtain a greater set of results so we can be certain of what solutions to recommend to industry. This brought up a personal milestone, achieving my 400th day at sea! I started as a sailor...

During the Southern Hemisphere summer, the Uruguayan swordfish fishery diminishes and several vessels reduce their number of sea trips. Only a single vessel remained active during January. This is a great opportunity for us to spread awareness about our work, taking to the fishing industry information...

This last trip in November was a little adventurous, although it only lasted twelve days due to a dodgy generator causing a number of unexpected events onboard. We started the trip moving around more than normal, in the search for good fishing grounds. The swordfish were being elusive and simply refused...

During this year our team has been trying out experiments to test the efficiency of tori lines . For a few months we were working on the design of the line that we were adapting to suit the fishery in Uruguay. As we already knew through our experiences onboard, the tori lines in can sometimes become...

My last trip at sea lasted 15 days and was aboard a vessel dedicated to fishing for swordfish; it was also one of the vessels that we chosen to test a tori line . This is for the experimental work that ATF Uruguay is carrying out this year. We set ten lines, five with and five without the tori line...

Tori lines (or bird-scaring lines) are one of the measures most commonly used to reduce seabirds from being accidentally killed by longline vessels. In previous years we have undertaken trips on Uruguayan longline vessels to get crews to use them. Unfortunately, we've found that some tori lines...

We are at an important moment for the team. Finding a bird-scaring line design for the Uruguayan fleet that works for their operations has been a worry for us since we started. We have been working to try and raise awareness of the seabird issue with them and developing ideas to stop the mortality of...

On return from the ATF meeting in Chile, I had a meeting with my colleague, the Itajaí representative of Projeto Albatroz, Patricia Mancini, and she updated me about the longline fleet in port and what has happened in Itajaí during my 15 days of absence. Several changes had occurred...

My most recent trip lasted 24 days, many of which we suffered some bad weather. The fishing master was targeting big eye tuna and sharks. As for seabirds, we had 17 species around the vessels as we worked and a single black-browed albatross was hooked during the haul. Lines were set on 11 days during...

I recently returned from my trip on the Astra 1 after 15 days at sea, but we were only able to fish for eight due to poor weather conditions. The target species for this vessel was yellow-fin tuna and during fishing operations we had around 20 species of seabird joining us. Six seabirds were caught...

I was recently aboard a 30-metre long Uruguayan longline vessel targeting swordfish for 14 days. Due to bad weather, it was only possible to fish for seven of those days. During the first set of the fishing lines, a bird-scaring line was used to help prevent seabird bycatch. Unfortunately, the bird...

I spent time at sea for my first trip as an instructor onboard a 35 m longline vessel. The trip was short, lasting just eight days, so we only managed to set three lines before returning to port. During my time onboard, I discussed the need to reduce the access of the seabirds to the baited hooks while...

Having been selected as one of the first two Albatross Task Force (ATF) instructors in Uruguay, I arranged my first trip to sea. The Uruguayan longline fleet had been less active recently due to relatively low catches, but seeing that the vessels were starting to head out again, I secured a position...