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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...

The Volvo Ocean Race has worked closely with the Save the Albatross Campaign since 2005, helping to increase awareness around the global plight of albatrosses. The Save the Albatross Campaign was initiated to inform and demonstrate to fishermen how to prevent incidental mortality of these endangered...

Last week, the ATF in Argentina sent a package to Ushuaia, where the fishing vessel Antartic III from fishing company Estremar S.A. was waiting. In the package were two sets of specially designed tori lines that resulted from ATF tests aboard the vessel this year. The use of tori lines is now obligatory...

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...

Without doubt, the albatross are one of the groups of seabirds that need our greatest conservation effort. Commercial fisheries, through incidental capture, have generated a huge impact in many populations and almost all the species are currently in danger of extinction. As they spend the main part of...

There has been a distinct contrast in the background scenery to the work we have been conducting in Chile recently. Personally, I have been just as busy working at-sea on fishing vessels as I have generating awareness of our work through an ornithology congress and public talks. The first of these...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Hello friends of the seabirds, This year has been amazing; rough seas, wonderful birds, good boat crews and a lot of positive energy within the Brazilian Albatross Task Force team. The challenges faced working onboard have been the most difficult we’ve faced so far, testing a combination...

Recently I returned from my first trip working with the Albatross Task Force aboard the pelagic longline vessel “Maria Letícia”, from Torquato Pontes Fish Company. This boat sailed under captain Celso, a very experienced captain who specializes in catching tunas. Captain Celso...

For over 30 years Bruce Pearson , a professional artist, has worked on a range of themes to convey his enthusiasm for wildlife and especially birds, giving a sense of wonder to the wild places they inhabit. More recently he has focused some of his time on developing creative links between art and conservation...

This was my first trip on a trawl vessel in Chile, with a fleet that targets common hake. We set off from the San Vincent port in the central southern part of Chile (around Latitude 36°S). The vessel is an industrial trawler and is pretty large, measuring 60 m which is much larger than the smaller...

Hi everyone, I'm writing to explain about how I've been spending the last few months on an important activity for all Task Force teams - helping to train local fishery observers. I've been working with the local Fisheries Institute (Instituto de Fomento Pesquero, IFOP)　to develop workshops...

The summer is the slow period for fishing activities in Brazil. The work is limited to the preparation of up and coming trips and improving the equipment, mitigation and conducting important meetings with our colleagues. Frequently such activities are carried out in pleasant places close to the port...

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...

In 2009, Sarah Outen became, at 24, the youngest woman to row solo across any ocean. And at our recent Members' Weekend we were pleased to welcome her as one of our guest speakers, where she clearly impressed Mark Avery , our Conservation Director, as well as Paul Lewis , Head of Public Relations...

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...

Back in July, we set sail from the port of Coquimbo in Chile with the challenge of studying mitigation measure design and the associated reduction of seabird bycatch. Historically, bycatch has been particularly high on the vessel that I have now joined for the next three months. This has been due, we...

I’ve just returned from sea, it was a hard trip, but with a lot of positive energy and interesting results! We are currently working on a mitigation experiment that makes every trip a huge challenge. Each time we meet the challenge we are filled with motivation and enthusiasm to keep going and...