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The Task Force in South Africa
My name is Bronwyn Maree, and I'm quite at home on a boat.
Before joining the Task Force in South Africa, I worked as a scientist onboard a Norwegian research vessel.
Along with the rest of the South African Task Force team, we are working with the bottom trawl and open-ocean longline fishing fleets.
The major threats seabirds face from these two fisheries is getting caught on the hooks, and also through collisions with the cables.
A number of vessels that operate in these waters already carry onboard observers from the department of Marine and Coastal Management. We work closely with these observers, monitoring seabird bycatch and providing training to them so that they can identify any birds caught.
We have also developed a series of workshops for fishermen to tell them how they can prevent seabird deaths.
Vessels in South African waters are required by law to return to port if they kill over a certain number of seabirds. As a crew want to be at sea for as long as possible, this has had the beneficial knock-on effect of our being welcomed on board ships to help them find the best solutions to reduce their seabird bycatch, meaning the boats can be out at sea for longer.
What can I do?
You don't have to travel all the way to South Africa to find out more about the work of the Albatross Task Force.
Read the Task Force blog