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Watch a video clip to see how seabirds can be kept away from colliding with trawler warps by spraying water from the back of the vessel.

"Water sprayers are the second generation physical seabird mitigation device.  Early indications are that they are very effective in deterring seabirds from warps (wire cables) on which birds can become tangled.  Sprayers are shown here being used in conjunction with buoys ("pinkies") because pinkies remain the only approved mitigation method.  These physical mitigations are part of a larger seabird management plan that also manages the release of offal because offal can attract seabirds to the vessel."

Black-browed Albatrosses gather behind a trawler
Photograph by Graham Robertson

View an earlier video clip on towing a plastic fishing buoy as a seabird mitigation measure behind a trawler and click here to learn more about mitigation in Australian trawl fisheries.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 17 December 2012