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Among the activities that we conduct as ATF instructors, working with the crew aboard fishing vessels is the most difficult to accurately quantify. We can identify a seabird to species or sub-species level, record the exact times of fishing operations, statistically demonstrate the efficiency of mitigation...

The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) is a group of companies, which provide grants to support the environment. This year our very own Albatross Task Force has been selected as a candidate to win over £20,000 of funding in the ‘nature’ category. The project was nominated...

Every year BirdLife South Africa gathers a congregation of very knowledgeable scientists and birders to discuss issues around bird conservation. This annual gathering has since been coined ‘FLOCK’ and it is BirdLife South Africa’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). This year, however was...

As the Albatross Task Force team leader for South Africa, I was recently asked to provide some fishery observer training slightly further from home than usual. Excitingly I was to travel to Korea and conduct a one-day training workshop with Korean fisheries observers and scientists from the South East...

Our work in the ATF generally brings us into close contact with the community, without which we would not be able to explain the phenomenon of seabird bycatch and our mission to reduce the impact on vulnerable species (see here for an example ). During these activities we always share our experiences...

In Chile we recently took part in the XXXII Congress of Marine Sciences, organized by the Marine Sciences Society and the University of Magallanes. This annual event brings together all the disciplines related to the ocean, and on this occasion we presented our work with albatross and fisheries. We...

As an instructor with the Albatross Task Force in Argentina, I embarked for 45 days aboard a pelagic (mid-water) trawl vessel that targets whip-tailed hake, also known as "hoki" ( Macruronus magellanicus ). The ship sailed from the port city of Ushuaia - at the end of the world! On this...

Hi everybody! Last month I returned from my last trip at-sea here in southern Brazil, on board a pelagic longliner. The cruise was amazing, and in addition to the success in obtaining data on our mitigation measure research, I experienced incredible and magic moments. The fishing area was the continental...

ProDelphinus observer Sergio explains how he got on during his most recent trip from Mancora, in northern Peru: At 7 o'clock in the evening, on the way to Mancora a local friend Braulio introduced me Mr. Carlos "Cumbia" Castillo who would be my captain on this trip. He said to me he...

During eight days at-sea we only managed to half-fill the fish hold on this fishing vessel. This explains how the fishing has been recently. We can’t blame it on the weather because most of the days were fine. However, there were some few days when the sea was rough with strong winds, thus making...

ATF instructors’ work is amazing and something to keep smiling about. Apart from testing seabird bycatch mitigation measures, ATF instructors have other forms of entertainment that keeps them refreshed at all times. A normal day starts with breakfast wonderfully prepared by the wonderful ship’s...

More than five long years had passed since I was last in the austral Atlantic Ocean. Some of those years, spent in the arid Brazilian capital, had made these fifteen days aboard a longline vessel a learning experience of the real meaning of living at, and from the sea. The daily routines, the isolation...

Albatross Task Force instructors have many responsibilities that include but are not-limited to working with fisheries. Of course, our main objective is seabird conservation and we do that by finding ways to work together with the fishers to reduce bycatch levels in the industry. This objective is facilitated...

Ross Wanless, South African regional co-ordinator for the Global Seabird Programme reports back from a seabird bycatch workshop in South Korea, with some promising developments: Asian longline fleets account for ~90% of the fishing effort that overlaps with albatrosses. This meant that getting an...

For this blog I am posting on behalf of my friend and colleague Rodrigo Forselledo: Rodrigo wrote the following: As Sebastian is enjoying a short period in the UK, I have taken on his ATF duties in Uruguay. On my first pelagic longline trip I started testing the new design of the bird-scaring...

The Chilean National Plan of Action Seabirds states that bird-scaring lines must be used on all pelagic longline sets. However, despite good seabird conservation regulations for this fleet, many vessels still don’t use this mitigation measure. The Albatross Task Force has been working in collaboration...

Yesterday Nahuel and I were with testing new improvements to the Tamini Tabla design, giving some final touches to the towed device which stabilizes and maintains bird-scaring lines in place during rough weather on trawl vessels. We expect this to be the final version! We made some changes in the...

The ATF in South Africa is working to disseminate seabird conservation information and to demonstrate best practice measures on board vessels to reduce seabird bycatch. Conducting research on board local and foreign fishing vessels is a large part of that process. Research findings are made available...

Last month I attended a roundtable discussion on interactions between marine megafauna and fisheries. This was part of the III Academic Symposium of Marine Biology , which took place in Tramandaí, southern Brazil. The symposium was sponsored by the Academic Board of a Biological Sciences course...

In the north of Peru we are working with observers to monitor the interactions in the demersal (bottom) longline fishery. This report was written by Eliana Alfaro Córdova, who has been helping Prodelphinus and the Albatross Task Force by accompanying the fishers in the north on their daily fishing...

The streamer line, also known as a bird-scaring or tori line is a mitigation measure that reduces seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. It is recommended that they be used in combination with night setting and line weighting. The efficiency of streamer lines has been demonstrated by our team in the...

I’ve recently started working with the Task Force in Chile and I am delighted to have this opportunity as I know Chilean fisheries inside out and I believe that we really need to make a big effort to reduce seabird mortality, so it is great to be part of the ATF. I've been lucky enough to...

We were extremely excited to welcome Allen Tshautshau as the newest member of the Albatross Task Force team in South Africa in early July. He is an extremely enthusiastic and passionate conservationist and wasted no time in getting down to the grind stone. On only his second day on the job he arrived...

The best practice suite of mitigation measures for pelagic longline fisheries is the combination of a bird-scaring line, appropriate line weighting and night setting. This combination protects the area where hooks are still close to the surface (bird-scaring line), sinks baited hooks rapidly out of the...

I have recently returned after twelve days at-sea off the southeast coast of Brazil, where we were fishing for tuna in an area bordering our neighbours and friends from Uruguay. The zone is favoured for the convergence of cold and warm water fronts, which form further north reaching well into Brazilian...