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title: "Seabird responses to longline bait off Peru studied with ACAP support"
---

# Seabird responses to longline bait off Peru studied with ACAP support

*![Quinones Mar Orn](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Shearwaters/Pink_footed/Quinones_Mar_Orn.png)  
Two Pink-footed Shearwaters fight over Chub Mackerel bait, photograph by Javier Quiñones (from the publication)*

 Javier Quiñones ([Instituto del Mar del Perú](https://www.gob.pe/imarpe), Callao, Peru) has published in the open-access journal [*Marine Ornithology*](https://www.marineornithology.org) on seabird response to presence of artisanal longline bait off Peru.  The 2024 study was supported by an ACAP Small Grant “Enabling mitigation measures in the southern Peruvian artisanal longline fleet targeting sharks to reduce the bycatch of albatrosses and petrels.”

 The paper’s abstract follows:

 “This paper presents findings on the seasonal variability in numbers and the aggressive foraging behavior of procellariiform birds interacting with the southern Peruvian artisanal longline fishery that targets sharks. Information was obtained during three field campaigns (April, June, and October 2024) aboard a 12-m artisanal vessel operating out of Ilo (17°38′S, 071°20′W). Interactions were assessed across four bathymetric habitats (Upper Slope, Lower Slope, Peruvian-Chilean Trench, and Abyssal Plain), concentrating on White-chinned Petrel *Procellaria aequinoctialis*, Pink-footed Shearwater *Ardenna creatopus*, Black-browed Albatross *Thalassarche melanophris*, Buller's Albatross *T. bulleri*, Waved Albatross *Phoebastria irrorata*, and Chilean Skua *Stercorarius chilensis*. Combined across all habitats, White-chinned Petrels reached a mean of 57.9 and 47.2 individuals per observation unit in April and June, respectively, reflecting their overwhelming dominance. Black-browed Albatrosses peaked in winter (June; 8.2 = combined mean), although up to 22 were present at a single longline deployment; the species was entirely absent in April, and very few were observed in October. Aggressive bait-attack behavior during longline deployment was highest in April and June, exacerbated by intense interspecific competition during winter. Thus, seabird bycatch mitigation measures should be carried out during the austral autumn and winter seasons.”

 **References:**

 Quiñones, J. 2026.  Seabird response to bait in the artisanal longline fishery targeting sharks in southern Peru.  [*Marine Ornithology*54: 479-485](https://www.marineornithology.org/article?rn=1729).

 Quiñones, J., Calderon, J., Goad, D., Fischer, J., Debski, I., Jiménez, C., Saenz, Y., Vilela, F., & Ochoa, M. 2026.  *[Enabling mitigation measures in the southern Peruvian artisanal longline fleet targeting sharks to reduce the bycatch of albatrosses and petrels](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403231737_Final_Report_ACAP_Small_Grants_Project_Enabling_mitigation_measures_in_the_southern_Peruvian_artisanal_longline_fleet_targeting_sharks_to_reduce_the_bycatch_of_albatrosses_and_petrels)*.  ACAP Small Grants Programme Final Technical Report.  Peru: jInstituto del Mar del Perú & Department of Conservation, New Zealand.  71 pp.

 *John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses* *and Petrels, 13 November 2026*