Seabird Task Force Archives | Seabird Task Force

First measures to reduce seabird bycatch in Portugal

By Iván Gutiérrez and Ana Santos, SPEA Bycatch Observers.

The team is focused on the contrast panels at the moment. We are getting them manufactured and deploying them in the water to make some preliminary tests. The aim is to have those 100% ready so we can start the mitigation tests to reduce seabird bycatch in Portuguese gillnet fisheries in September. So far, so good!

[This post is a follow up from: Seabird Task Force sets sail in Portugal]

When we received the news that the project had been approved we felt the hurry to start as soon as possible. But Christmas arrived and we hadn’t had enough time to search for a company to produce the contrast panels. We wanted to start right away so we decided to go the artisanal way – the team and their families started manufacturing the panels themselves!

The specific materials needed to resist salt water so they were not easy to find, but once we found them, the work went very well – about a third of the panels are done now! While some of us are still sewing, others are already fixing the contrast panels on the gillnets (those kindly provided by the team in Lithuania – thank you!).

At the end of April we started the on-board observations with the modified nets. This first test is very important in order to understand how practical the panels are for the fishermen. We also need to see which adjustments and changes need to be made to guarantee that in the next winter everything is operational for the real mitigation tests.

Contrast panels attached to the fishing net © SPEA

Until now the preliminary tests have gone very well. The presence of the panels in the gillnets does not seem to affect fish catch. In fact, the opposite happened: during test days catches were higher in the modified nets. More importantly, the modified nets do not disturb the fishers’ work which is one of our priorities.

In order to analyze the measures from an economic point of view, we are collecting data about the fish catches – total catch, species and fish size. We measure a determined fish sample from fishing events with and without panels in order to understand the differences.

On the trip back to the port, the fishermen had a big smile on their faces, because they initially thought that fish catch would be poor with these modified nets and that it would be difficult to work with these panels. Fortunately, the results have been quite positive and we are very pleased.

The next weeks we will continue to make on-board observations and testing these first mitigation measures in gillnets in Portugal.

It’s too early for conclusions, but hopefully the results will remain positive!

Portugal

Shedding light on seabird bycatch

By Tomasz Linkowski & Anetta Ameryk, Polish National Marine Fisheries Research Institute NMFRI

For the first time in EU waters, we want to test net lighting in Polish gillnet fisheries to minimise seabird bycatch, thanks to a new project coordinated by BirdLife International and funded by the European Commission to specifically look at gillnet bycatch mitigation. As part of BirdLife’s existing work in the Baltic (Lithuania), testing of net panels is already being carried out, so it only made sense to examine the efficacy of an alternate measure in Poland. While it was relatively easy to come up with a solution, actually implementing it turned out to be a challenge!

At the beginning of December, we decided together with BirdLife International that due to light conditions prevailing in the winter season in the the South Baltic, net lighting instead of the high contrast panels (see below) already tested in Lithuania should be more effective in protecting birds against their accidental bycatch in gillnets.

High contrast panel being tried out in Lithuania.
Fish luring lights used in the net lighting measures in Poland.

Images above: On the left, fish luring lights used in the net lighting measures in Poland. On the right, high contrast panel being tried out in Lithuania.

The effectiveness of lamps produced by the Korean company CENTRO had already been documented to reduce seabird bycatch in the Southern Pacific. So why would the same measures not be as effective in the Baltic? Once the decision was taken, we thought it’d be easy enough to start trying out the idea.

It turned out CENTRO lamps were not available either in Europe or at the manufacturer in Korea in time to start our project in the present season. In the end, we only managed to buy two pieces of CENTRO lights so we had to look for alternatives. We successfully found appropriate lights and after some trouble we managed to buy 350 lamps of Korean production type YML-1000 (photo below) of a very similar design and parameters with respect to the original CENTRO product.

Lights © Anetta Ameryk/Morski Instytut Rybacki

Once we had the lamps in our hands, we came across another issue. The proposed lamps had been developed for longline or angler catches of swordfish, so adapting them for our project needs was not so obvious. Luckily, we eventually got around that issue too!

Mounting the lights © Anetta Ameryk/Morski Instytut Rybacki

The lamps reached the NMFRI in mid-February and they were immediately installed on previously prepared net sets by owners of two boats with whom the NMFRI had earlier signed relevant agreements on cooperation within the project.

After negotiations with fishermen, they considered that they could try with automatic lamps which should not significantly slow down the process of fishing and would hopefully be effective in minimizing seabird bycatch.

Nets ready for use © Anetta Ameryk/Morski Instytut Rybacki
Mounting the lights © Anetta Ameryk/Morski Instytut Rybacki

The lamps have been installed by each fisher on two sets of nets with a length of approx. 300 m. Two identical net sets have been left with no lights as control sets. The next step will be to examine any operational issues with the lights so we can eventually deploy them in big numbers.

Now that we are ready to set sail, we are eager to share our next steps with you!

Poland

New Seabird Task Force to address bycatch in Europe: the Mediterranean point of view

[Disponible en español]

BirdLife International is extending its Albatros Task Force, the initiative to reduce seabird bycatch in collaboration with fishermen, to Europe. Here, the so called Seabird Task Force starts at two bycatch hotspots, Lithuania and the Spanish Mediterranean. Reasons to prioritise this latter area deserve some further explanation.

Spain has a wide diversity of seabirds, with over 40 regular species, more than 20 of them breeding, spread across three distinct geographical regions: the Macaronesia, the European Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Of these, the Mediterranean hosts smaller seabird numbers, but a relatively high diversity of species, many of them of conservation concern precisely due to their tiny populations, as well as restricted distribution ranges. Moreover, the Mediterranean region is highly populated and therefore supports high human pressure, which affects seabirds in several ways: coastal development, introduced predators, pollution, fisheries overexploitation, etc. Among these, bycatch appears to be one of the most serious threats for some species.

Of the seabirds of conservation concern, two species deserve particular attention, the Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus (Critically Endangered) and the Yelkouan shearwater P. yelkouan (Vulnerable). Both are endemic to the Mediterranean, with small global populations and sharp declining trends, that could lead to their extinction in the near future. Although they are affected by introduced predators and other threats in their colonies, the major drivers of their decline seem to occur at sea, and bycatch postulates itself as the most important of them, particularly on longlines.

Balearic shearwater seeking discards behind a fishing vessel

Why these birds are prone to be caught in longlines? Both Balearic and Yelkouan shearwaters are often seen following fishing vessels to capture discards, and can get captured in the longline baited hooks when these are thrown overboard during the setting operations. Demersal longlines are particularly dangerous for them, as they operate over the continental shelf, where both species of shearwaters tend to forage (while pelagic longlines often operate further offshore), and use smaller hooks, as well as more suitable bait (often sardine or similar sized fish, ideal for the shearwaters). Moreover, these seabirds are highly gregarious in their foraging grounds, and can “attack” a longline by the hundreds, with the risk of “massive captures” (several tens or more).

Balearic and yelkouan shearwaters off Roses, Catalonia, NE Spain. The gregarious behaviour of these two species makes them susceptible of “massive” catches, which have been often reported in this area

Information supporting the idea that demersal longline is a major threat for the two small shearwaters endemic to the Mediterranean is still patchy, but increasing. Events of “mass” mortality have been reported by fishermen (up to over 200 small shearwaters in a single line), or deduced from stranded birds on the beach. Questionnaires to fishermen also point in that direction, with a described event of up to 3,900 seabirds reported!!! And observers onboard demersal longlines have reported the regular capture of the shearwaters, though effort is still limited.

The new Seabird Task Force brings the opportunity to reinforce observers’ effort in the Demersal longline fishery operating off Catalonia, NE Spain, one of the main foraging grounds for the Balearic shearwater in winter and spring (pre-breeding and breeding periods), and also the main foraging area for Yelkouan shearwaters in Spain. Other seabirds regularly captured include Scopoli’s shearwater Calonectris diomedea and Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii, both endemic to the Mediterranean. Recent observers’ work has been conducted in the region by a team from the University of Barcelona (and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in pelagic longlines), plus questionnaires and workshops by SEO/BirdLife, but further effort is necessary to refine the existing information, most important to provide an accurate estimate of bycatch rates, given the high variability observed. During 2015, SEO/BirdLife’s observers will get onboard demersal longliners across the Catalan coast to address these issues. Later, in 2016, mitigation measures will be tested to assess their efficiency at solving the problem. The close collaboration with fishermen will be essential to achieve any success. We’ll keep you posted of future advances with the project.

Spain