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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...

The big news from Namibia is that we have now begun our research project, and flown the first ever bird-scaring tori lines on a trawler in Namibia. This honour fell to the MFV Fisherbank belonging to Hangana, a Namibian company that has been very supportive of our work. The crew were fantastic, and...

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...

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...

I have been on the high seas fishing vessel Tami S II. It is the largest and most modern longliner of the Chilean pelagic fleet. This factory freezer vessel is 53 m long and can remain at sea for three to four month periods, setting lines of 60 nautical miles, each holding over 1,700 baited hooks. ...

Hello friends of seabirds. At this time of the year it is very dangerous to sail here in the South Atlantic. To make you know how bad it is to navigate, when the FV Oceano Brasil reached the fishing area, and we started to fish, the wind changed its direction. So, we did the hauling facing a sea with...

We sailed to the south, and the sea is very agitated and I'm worried because maybe we won't set today. A day without working means one more day at the sea, which makes the fishermen upset. But I carry on testing different techniques to help save albatrosses. 17 June The fishing productivity...

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...

Hello seabirds' friends. I am here to tell you the news from Santos/Brazil Port. As the summer is not a good time to observe birds here in Brazil, I have been preparing the vessels to start to test the bird scaring lines (tori lines). This equipment is essential for scaring seabirds while the...

Hake feed at night close to the surface and return to the bottom in the morning. As a result, lines are set in the early morning. As in the tuna longlining, the birds are getting caught while trying to seize the baits during the setting of the line, but also getting caught on hooks while feeding on...

I just got back from a trip on a South African longliner that targets swordfish and tuna. The trip was two and a half weeks long and took place off the west coast of South Africa. Five albatrosses were accidentally caught on the longline. Four of them were dead, as they were caught while the vessel was...