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ALBATROSS TASK FORCE

Team Highlights, 2011 Introduction

Over half of all pelagic seabird populations are declining, with the albatross family faring the worst within

this group as 17 of the 22 species are now threatened with extinction. The overriding threat to these

graceful ocean wanderers is the accidental, yet deadly, interaction with longline and trawl fisheries that

overlap with their most important foraging grounds. Seabird interactions are typically associated with the

scavenging of baited hooks during setting operations on longline vessels and collisions with trawl warp

cables plus net entanglements in trawl fisheries.

In 2005, the RSPB and BirdLife International established the Albatross Task Force (ATF) as the world’s first

international team of mitigation instructors working directly with fishermen to demonstrate best practice

measures to reduce seabird bycatch. The ATF filled a critical gap that existed in translating knowledge and

regulations on seabird bycatch mitigation to direct action on-board vessels.

The main objective of the Task Force is to reduce bycatch of albatross and petrels in targeted fisheries, and

ultimately to improve the conservation status of threatened seabirds.

To achieve this objective the Task Force works at the frontline of albatross conservation in bycatch hotspots

in southern Africa and South America. This approach continues to be successful, leading to new

breakthroughs in 2011 including the adoption of new fishery regulations in the Brazilian longline fleet and

the use of bird scaring lines by all vessels in Uruguay.

This report provides summary information of these and other significant advances across the Task Force

teams. For each country a brief one-page overview is given of the target fishery, the team objectives, major

areas of progress and future challenges.

The successes of the ATF would not be possible without the membership contributions of The Royal

Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife International, significant support from the David

and Lucile Packard Foundation, Volvo, Adessium Foundation, Arrowgrass Capital partners LLP, BBC

Wildlife Fund, The Rufford Foundation, The Whitley Animal Protection Trust, Boston Environmental

Fund, Henry Kenner, David and Christine Walmsley plus many generous private sponsors and donors.

Simple solutions Since seabird mortality due to fishery interactions was first identified in the 1990’s, several simple and

economically viable measures have been developed to mitigate the interaction. These mitigation measures,

once adopted, rapidly reduce interactions without affecting the fishing operation. The measures that have

been identified as Best Practice include:

Bird scaring lines : a physical barrier to prevent seabirds from interacting with fishing gear;

Line weighting : the best way to rapidly sink baited hooks out of the reach of foraging birds;

Night setting : a technique to deploy fishing gear at a time when most seabirds are inactive.

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Image: Bird scaring lines

adopted in the longline fleet.

ARGENTINA

Aves Argentinas

Leo Tamini & Nahuel Chavez

Argentinean demersal trawl and longline fishery

Target fisheries

Our team in Argentina have been working with two fleets, which together comprise a significant

proportion of industrial fishing effort across the Patagonian shelf. The first is the demersal trawl fishery,

with 33 large factory freezer trawlers accounting for an annual catch of over 195,000 tonnes of hake

Merluccius spp., hoki Macruronus magellanicus and kingclip Genypterus blacodes. Secondly, a small demersal

longline fleet targets toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides off the southern tip of South America, with three

vessels. The major ports for these fleets are Mar del Plata,

Puerto Madryn and Ushuaia.

Team progress

1. Through collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries

and Aquiculture, the official effort data for the trawl

fishery has been analysed and used to extrapolate a

seabird bycatch estimate for the fleet. As this

information is sensitive we are in the process of

presenting the official bycatch estimate to stakeholders before making this information publicly

available. The findings we have produced will then be published in a peer reviewed scientific journal.

Meanwhile we are working to implement mitigation measures in this trawl fishery;

2. A towed device which improves bird scaring line efficiency once deployed has been fully developed

into a commercial prototype and is currently undergoing long-term durability trials on commercial

trawl vessels in the harsh conditions associated with the Patagonian shelf. This is crucial for the

practical application of bird scaring lines across the fleet;

3. At-sea comparative trials of two bird scaring line designs for the

demersal longline fleet were conducted in late 2010 and early 2011.

The results of the trials identified the most efficient bird scaring line

design which was presented before the Federal Fisheries Council

and is now being used on the three vessels in this small fleet;

4. In 2011 the first trips were made on side-hauling trawl vessels, part

of the 150 strong wet-fish fleet. This fishing technique leaves the nets

floating in the water beside the vessel while the cod-end is brought

on-board and the catch emptied on deck. The peculiar style of

fishing is considered to have significant impact on petrels and

shearwaters and mitigation measures do not currently exist for this

fishery.

Future challenges

The main challenge for the ATF in Argentina is supporting the fleet wide adoption of mitigation measures

in the trawl fishery; the development of a new mitigation measure for side-hauling vessels is an important

new initiative.

Team objectives: Complete annual bycatch estimate for the

trawl fleet;

At-sea durability testing of towed device

Best practice mitigation development for

longline fishery

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BRAZIL

Projeto Albatroz & SAVE Brasil

Tatiana Neves, Dimas Gianuca,

Kleber Baraldo & Rodrigo Sant’Ana

Brazilian pelagic longline fishery

Target fisheries

In Brazil the team is working with the pelagic long line fishery, a fleet of both large steel hulled vessels and

smaller wooden boats. The fleet operates from southeast Brazil and is based in the ports of Rio Grande,

Itajaí and Santos. While the fleet is changeable, we have regular contact with over 25 vessels in these ports.

Team progress

1. In April 2011 a new law was passed in Brazil which requires any longline vessel fishing below latitude

20° S to use a bird scaring line and line weighting of at least 60 g placed within 2 m from the hook. This

new regulation was based on experimental research conducted by Projeto Albatroz and the ATF in 2009

and 2010;

2. We have contacted all 29 vessels in the pelagic longline fleet to provide or help build bird scaring lines,

of which 10 (34.5 %) are now using this measure;

3. Our at-sea effort continues, working to demonstrate best practice to fishers and to collect seabird

bycatch data. In 2011 over 33,000 longline hooks were observed by ATF instructors on-board vessels

deploying bird scaring lines in combination with alternating line weighting regimes. Not a single bird

was caught while the bird scaring line was deployed;

4. Our experimental effort throughout 2010 and 2011 has shown that placing line weights closer to the

hook has no impact on the target species catch. Resistance from some companies in the fishing

industry is largely based on the assumption that line weighting reduces their profitability. Our work

clearly demonstrates that this is not the case.

5. The Hook Pod is an emerging mitigation measure that has been developed by BirdLife International in

collaboration with a British engineering company, Fishtek Ltd. The Hook Pod is a capsule that protects

the barb of the hook until the fishing gear reaches a target depth, at which point the capsule opens and

releases the hook. The first trials to be conducted in South America were performed in Brazil. No

birds were killed during the experiment and the Hook Pods worked well and fitted easily into the

commercial operation on-board.

Future challenges

The main challenge in Brazil is to achieve 100% implementation of the new mitigation regulation in the

longline fishery. Some resistance has been encountered since the regulations came into force and this will

only be resolved through continued demonstration and the accumulation of sufficient catch and bycatch

data to quell the doubts coming from some sectors within the industry.

Team objectives: Continue demonstration of mitigation measures throughout the fleet; Compare catch rate of target fish species with two line weighting configurations;

Conduct Hook Pod tests on-board a commercial vessel in an area with high seabird abundance.

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CHILE

CODEFF & ATF Chile

Luis Cabezas & Cristián Suazo

Chilean demersal trawl fishery

Target fisheries

Our work in Chile began with the northern pelagic longline fleet. Thanks to ATF workshops, observers in

this fleet now collect seabird bycatch data in close to 100% of operations and record mitigation measure

compliance for bird-scaring lines, line weighting

and night setting. This allows us to target new

fleets including the trawl and purse seine fisheries.

Team progress

Southern ports in Chile were heavily affected by

the 2010 earthquake and tsunami, including the

port of Talcahuano where the trawl fishery is

based. The tsunami had an enormous impact on

the industry, port infrastructure and the local population. While this affected the logistics of ATF work, the

strong sense of community spirit has been a positive factor. The BirdLife partner in Chile, CODEFF, now

hosts the ATF which was previously managed by the NGO Centro Ballena Azul. This change will help

integrate the team within the BirdLife network.

1. Following the initial preparations in 2010 to start work in the trawl fleet, the ATF team has successfully

initiated on-board observations of seabird interactions with the fishery. This has been possible due to

extremely positive collaboration with a fishery association of trawl vessels (SONAPESCA), the National

Observer Programme and the Ministry of Fisheries;

2. In 2011 at-sea observer effort has accrued a high level of coverage, with over a hundred trawls

observed so far and over 300 hours of seabird interaction data collected. This is an excellent start to

developing the first annual bycatch estimate for this fishery;

3. In addition to monitoring seabird interactions, through agreement with the fishing industry we have

begun experimental trials to compare seabird interactions in the presence and absence of mitigation

measures – in this case we are exporting a tried and tested bird scaring line design from South Africa,

Namibia and Argentina;

4. The first trips were conducted on the purse-seine fleet to identify pink-footed shearwater Puffinus

creatopus and other seabird bycatch. We have already confirmed bycatch exists in this large fleet and we

are now working to develop an annual estimate;

5. Community awareness is an important part of the work programme and an excellent level of news

coverage and community presentations was achieved this year.

Future challenges

Our team in Chile has made a good start at the collection of bycatch and interaction data in the trawl

fishery. The challenge is to maintain the observation effort across all seasons so that a robust estimate can

be produced in 2012. With experimental work on track we should be in a good position to present our

findings to government and industry toward the end of 2012, at which point we would contribute to the

update of the Chilean National Plan of Action Seabirds.

Team objectives: Commence on-board observations in the trawl

fishery;

Initiate mitigation experiments with trawl fleet;

Increase awareness in southern ports and

communities.

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Fig 1: The median, interquartile rage, minimum and

maximum hake catch when using 450 or 900 g weights.

ECUADOR

Aves y Conservación

Jorge Samaniego & Roberto Medina

Ecuadorian demersal longline fishery

Target fisheries

The ATF in Ecuador is working with the demersal longline fishery that targets hake Merlucius gayi. In

Ecuador, hake was previously caught for conversion into fish meal but now several ports have artisanal

fleets that target hake for human consumption. The main ports are Santa Rosa, Aconcito and San Mateo, all

in the south of Ecuador, close to the main port of Guayaquil. Our work is concentrated in Santa Rosa,

where 25 vessels operate, each setting approximately 400 hooks per line, three to four times per day.

Team progress

In 2010 the ATF in Ecuador documented the first records of Waved albatross being killed in the demersal

longline fishery. The Waved albatross is a Critically Endangered species, and as such this fishery requires

urgent attention. We moved quickly to begin testing line weighting regimes to identify whether a faster

sink rate could prevent albatross bycatch in this fleet.

1. A year of dedicated observation has provided

something of a mystery: there was no seabird

mortality recorded in 2011;

2. Bycatch events are caused by several factors and

we are continuing our work in Ecuador to

investigate and understand inter-annual variation;

3. Our experimental work with line weighting shows

no negative consequences on target species catch

(see Fig) – in fact there is some indication that a

higher proportion of larger hake are caught when

using heavier line weights, with economic benefits;

4. We have achieved a high presence in the main

ports, with 88 port visits and 38 meetings with the

fishing community.

Future challenges

Our challenge in Ecuador is to better understand Waved albatross bycatch and demonstrate mitigation

measures can be effective without affecting fish catch or operation. In order to do so, we will need to

identify the environmental, biological and operational factors that influence bycatch events.

Team objectives: Identify means of mitigating seabird bycatch in the Ecuadorian demersal longline fleet;

Complete comparison of sink rate of the fishing gear under two line weighting regimes;

Compare catch rate of target fish between traditional and modified fishing gear;

Support the implementation of the Waved albatross Action Plan.

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Fig 2: Two line sink rates – the faster sinking line

(lower line) represents hooks close to stone weights,

the slower sinking line (upper line) represents

hooks at the furthest point between weights.

NAMIBIA

Namibian Nature Foundation &

Ministry of Marine Resource Management

John Patterson & Kaspar Shimooshili

Namibian demersal longline and trawl fisheries

Target fisheries

Our team in Namibia is based in the main fishing port, Walvis Bay, and works with the Namibian demersal

trawl and demersal longline fleets, both targeting

hake. The two fleets constitute 90 vessels which

fish year round with the exception of October,

during which time both fisheries are under closure

to allow the hake stock recruitment.

Team progress

Of the two fleets we are working with, our main

progress has been with the longline fishery as the next steps in the trawl fishery depend largely on

obtaining government adoption of regulations which is a slow but essential process.

1. Based on observations and total fishery effort, around 32,300 (6,453 – 62,408) seabirds are killed in

Namibia each year by the demersal longline fleet;

2. Our experimental mitigation research results indicate that this mortality can be reduced by 86.4 % and

98.2 % through the use of a single tori line or paired tori line respectively;

3. We have identified that fishing gear is sinking slowly in this fleet: baited hooks are still within two

metres of the surface as far as 100 m behind the

vessel (Fig 2). The variability is large, with hooks

close to line weights sinking fast and hooks

between weights sinking slowly. We are

commencing work to identify a weighting system

based on best practice measures in similar fleets;

4. The Namibian government has completed its final

round of stakeholder consultation, and BirdLife

gave presentations to the Ministry of Fisheries and

Marine Resources and the national observer

agency. This is the final step toward adoption of

the NPOA-Seabirds;

Future challenges

In 2010/11 our work with bird scaring lines has shown

that the longline fleet can dramatically reduce seabird

bycatch by using bird-scaring lines. In 2011, our estimate of 32,300 birds being killed per year in the

demersal longline fleet indicates the importance of ensuring uptake of this simple and effective mitigation

measure. However, our 2011 results have also highlighted that the sink rate is too slow. Line weighting

must be improved if seabird bycatch is to be reduced to minimal levels in this fleet. In 2012 we will conduct

line weighting experiments to identify best practice for this fleet.

Team objectives: Lobby for adoption of a Namibian National Plan of

Action-Seabirds;

Complete annual bycatch estimate for trawl fishery;

Identify sink rate of demersal longline gear.

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SOUTH AFRICA

BirdLife South Africa

Ross Wanless, Bronwyn Maree

& Tshikana Rasehlomi

South African trawl and pelagic longline fisheries

Target fisheries

The South African ATF team focused on two main fisheries in 2011, namely the demersal trawl fishery and

pelagic longline fishery (both the domestic and foreign/joint-venture fleets). The trawl fishery consists of

about 30 active vessels (wet-fish and freezer included) which target hake, mainly along the shelf edge. The

pelagic longline fleet targets swordfish and tuna species. The foreign fleet consisted of 15 active vessels,

while the local fleet has about 10 active vessels.

Team progress

1. Considerable at-sea effort (8 trips) was achieved in the domestic longline fleet to obtain sufficient data

to complete the Safe Lead experiment which commenced in late 2009. Results show that Safe Leads are

a cost-effective and operationally simple alternative to traditional weighted swivels with significant

benefits to crew safety;

2. A total of 18 trawl trips were conducted during 2011, of which nine were dedicated to investigating the

effect of auxiliary (lateral) bird scaring lines used in conjunction with bird scaring lines on trawl vessels.

A student from a local university provided additional at-sea observation effort in this project;

3. The ATF collaborated in drafting and submitting technical improvements to the trawl fishery permit

conditions. These changes were adopted in August 2011;

4. The first multi-year (2006-10) bycatch estimate for the demersal trawl fishery has been completed, with

wide consultation amongst government, fishing industry representatives and statisticians. The latest

figure suggests major reductions in albatross mortalities, but not for the overall number of seabirds

killed. These data will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in mid-2012;

5. The ATF team, together with the local observer agency ensure that all joint-venture (JV) vessels were

briefed on every pelagic longline permit condition before fishing in South African waters. The briefing

takes the format of a workshop and includes a translator. The latest available figure for seabird bycatch

in the JV fleet for 2011 is 0.07 birds/1000 hooks (compared to the NPOA-Seabirds objective of 0.05

birds/1000 hooks).

Future challenges

Our main objectives for 2012 include experimental testing of Hook Pods in the domestic pelagic longline

fleet, continued monitoring of the trawl fishery to implement the amended permit conditions and

observations in the demersal hake longline fishery.

Team objectives: Complete a three-year data set on the effect of heavier line weights (Safe Leads) on catch rate of

target and non-target species in the pelagic longline fishery;

Evaluate the efficiency and practical use of a second mitigation measure in the trawl fishery;

Update the seabird bycatch estimate for the trawl fishery from 2006-2011.

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URUGUAY

Proyecto Albatros y Petreles - Uruguay

& Aves Uruguay

Andrés Domingo, Sebastián Jiménez & Martin Abreu

Uruguayan pelagic longline fishery

Target fisheries

The ATF team in Uruguay works with the pelagic

longline fleet. This fleet targets swordfish (Xiphias

gladius), tuna (Thunnus spp.) and pelagic sharks

(mainly Prionace glauca and Isurus oxyrinchus) and

operates from the two ports of Montevideo and La

Paloma.

Team progress

During 2011, the main task on-board was

to complete the mitigation research begun in 2009 and 2010 to provide a definitive conclusion on streamer

line efficiency. The main advances in Uruguay in 2011 were:

1. A total of six fishing trips including 60 days at-sea, with bird scaring line research conducted on

49 setting operations;

2. Our data from the last three years show that the seabird bycatch rate in Uruguay is reduced by at least

85% and as much as 92% when using a bird scaring line;

3. Technical modifications to the bird scaring line design have been completed which includes using

stronger materials along the aerial extent and shortening the towed device to prevent entanglements;

4. The sink rate profile of Uruguayan pelagic longline gear was identified, indicating that baited hooks

sink almost twice as fast over the first two metres depth if

line weights are placed 1.0 m instead of 4.5 m from the

hook;

5. The team in Uruguay hosted the ATF instructors

workshop in March 2012, with special guests including

members of industry and relevant government

departments;

6. The team collaborated with the National Observer

Programme (PNOFA) to provide and instruct bird scaring

line use for 100% of Uruguayan and Japanese flagged

vessels fishing in Uruguayan waters. Observer data shows

100% compliance in each fleet.

Future challenges

Two major challenges over the next year include the reduction of bird scaring line entanglements to a

minimum and studying the effect of alternative weighting on the catch of target fish species. We expect to

obtain an improved performance of the bird scaring line following the research we conducted to modify

the design plus incorporating changes in the fishing operation in collaboration with fishing captains.

Team objectives: Complete bird scaring line experimental research

Identify the sink rate profile of pelagic longline gear

in the Uruguayan fleet;

In-port awareness and mitigation provision to the

Japanese longline fleet.

Image: Pelagic longline setting operation with

the Uruguayan bird scaring line deployed.

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CONCLUSIONS

Action is urgently required on-board longliners and trawlers to halt the dramatic declines in albatross and

petrel populations. The Task Force is delivering the conservation action where it is most needed, in ports

and at-sea shoulder-to-shoulder with the fishing industry.

Advances in mitigation measure development

The Albatross Task Force has made significant progress in 2011, in terms of mitigation research on bird

scaring lines (Argentina, Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay) and line weighting regimes (Namibia,

Uruguay) as well as being able to demonstrate the negligible impact of mitigation measures on target fish

catch (Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa).

Our results have been extremely positive across the countries we are working in. In pelagic and demersal

longline fisheries we are showing that a combination of bird scaring lines, line weighting and night setting

significantly reduces seabird bycatch or interactions that lead to bycatch (Uruguay, Brazil and Namibia)

whereas in trawl fisheries we have shown that bird scaring lines deliver dramatic reductions in seabird

bycatch (South Africa, Namibia and Argentina). In 2011 the ATF has also delivered significant results in

terms of seabird bycatch estimates (especially the trawl fisheries in Argentina, South Africa and Namibia)

and testing mitigation for the first time in previously unstudied fisheries (Ecuador and Chile).

Making the link from vessels to regulations

Across all ATF teams, the results we have generated through experimental work on a limited number of

vessels have been backed up by a complementary awareness and education campaign to demonstrate the

techniques across the fleet, both in ports and at-sea. However, achieving fleet-wide adoption of best

practice measures remains our most demanding challenge. With new regulations passed in Brazil in 2011,

we have now managed to support the inclusion of mitigation measures in fishery regulations in three of the

seven countries we are working in (Brazil, Chile and South Africa). Two more countries (Namibia and

Uruguay) are at an advanced stage of having their results incorporated in national legislation through

collaboration with government departments and, in the case of Namibia an update to their National Plan of

Action – Seabirds. Thanks to our input and the cooperation of local industry and government this plan will

be one of the first to be compliant with international best practice advice developed in 2009 by the United

Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation.

International significance

This year we received recognition of the breadth and scope of our work from the Agreement on the

Conservation of Albatross and Petrels (ACAP) following our significant contribution to the Seabird Bycatch

Working Group that took place in Ecuador in August 2011. A letter of appreciation from the ACAP

Executive Secretary and Chair of the Advisory Committee thanked the ATF for having ‘vastly improved our

understanding of seabird bycatch mitigation, particularly in pelagic longline fisheries’ and for the results we

presented from ATF mitigation research which ‘will considerably aid our work in improving the conservation

status of albatrosses and petrels’.

As well as BirdLife’s work through the Albatross Task Force, BirdLife engages at the policy level with

governments and inter-governmental organisations governing global fisheries. Through our work over the

last 8 years with the world’s tuna commissions, we have had major successes in strengthening the bycatch

mitigation requirements for global pelagic longline vessels which overlap with albatross and petrel

distribution. The Albatross Task Force is increasingly providing strong inputs for this policy work with

global fisheries, and this in turn has secured requirements for use of bycatch mitigation measures which

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strengthen our ability to deliver success in ATF countries. This positive feedback between the ATF and our

policy work is increasing all the time.

Future challenges

The challenge of obtaining significant reductions in bycatch requires full adoption of measures across all

target fleets, high levels of compliance with regulations, and effective monitoring. Our experience has

shown that a lot of work is required to ensure fleet-wide adoption of mitigation measures. We have

achieved important advances in bycatch mitigation research, in demonstrating that dramatic reductions in

seabird bycatch is possible, and in achieving this reduction in some fleets (e.g. South Africa and Chile

pelagic longline), but we must now carry forward that momentum to see the adoption of effective

measures across entire fleets. In order to do so, we must intensify our collaboration with industry and

governmental departments to reach all companies, vessels, captains and crew.