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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...

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...

By contrast to the well-studied trawl fisheries, the level of interaction between seabirds and purse-seine fleets remains to be unknown. This type of fishery in Chile uses nets with a small mesh size and targets pelagic fish species at the surface of the water. The nets are set in a circle, forming the...

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...

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...

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...

Between the 24 th and 27 th January 2011, I had the opportunity to take part in a workshop organised by the Chilean Environment Ministry to evaluate conservation actions for the Pink-footed shearwater Puffinus creatopus under the mark of the Agreement for Environmental Cooperation between Chile...

Richard's Bay Over the last eight months I’ve been working off Richard's Bay, in the east coast of South Africa, collecting more data for the Albatross Task Force (ATF) research project which is seeking to determine how adding weight to the fishing line effects the catch rates of...

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...

Between the 4 th August and 2 nd September two ATF Chile instructors (Rodrigo and myself!) took to the high seas onboard a Chilean pelagic longline vessel that fishes for swordfish. What was our mission? What was our objective? Well, we were doing what the Task Force does best: conducting experiments...

I’m leaving for sea tomorrow on a tuna boat, hoping to have a good trip and that what I learn will be of use for the conservation of the seabirds we are working to protect. This trip is an experiment to investigate the efficiency of an under-water setting capsule to reduce, and possibly...

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...

After many years of waiting, my dream finally came true...I got given the opportunity to go to Marion Island! The three week trip was to take a construction team down to put the finishing touches on the new base. The voyage up to the island took 6 days and included two that were very stormy, true...

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...

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...

Last week I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity (along with a member of WWF’s Responsible Fisheries Programme) to spend a few days at sea on the South African Government’s offshore patrol vessel. This trip was very different from my normal trips onboard the commercial fishing vessels...

I am back to land after 22 days at sea and lots of fishing. This cruise gave me the opportunity to share important information with the crew of FV Yamaia III about keeping as many seabirds as possible safe. The fishing ground was between 23° to 26°S latitude and 37° to 44°W longitude...

During the later half of June it was off to sea again on the Irvin & Johnson wet-fish trawler, the Stevia. Once again I was looking at making the tori lines (bird scaring lines) work their best to prevent seabird deaths. Naturally, winter is the season when seabirds are most abundant in our waters...

My first day finally arrived with some anticipation but also with some excitement. This was the day I was to set sail onboard a commercial trawler for the first time. This was my training trip for my new job as an Instructor for the South African Albatross Task Force Team. After two trips to sea had...

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...

Firstly I would like to say that I am very pleased to be part of such important team as the Albatross Task Force and very proud to be chosen among so many candidates. I felt very happy and enthusiastic to start my task in Itajaí port! I had the opportunity to go on the Brazilian Research Vessel...

It seems ages ago now, but it was in April last year that Samantha Petersen and I sat down one evening to draft the proprosal to set up an Albatross Task Force (ATF) in Namibia. The death rate of seabirds in Namibian waters is unacceptable. Last year, a report, The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem...

I've been at sea for 20 days. I have so much news to tell! We left Santos on June 6 and sailed to the Brazilian south coast. The sea conditions were so calm they permitted me to contemplate the beautiful days and sunsets during two days of sailing it took until we reached the fishing area. ...

Hi albatross fans! It's been a long time since the last time I wrote. Too much 'dry land' business which confined me to my mother city. However, we had a visit from Ben Sullivan, manager of the Global Seabird Programme. It was really great to finally meet the guy who runs the show. Lots...