A bird-scaring line with its hanging streamers keeps albatrosses and petrels away from the hooks on a Brazilian longliner

Photograph by Dimas Gianuca, Albatross Task Force - Brazil

Sebastián Jiménez (Laboratorio de Recursos Pelágicos, Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos, Montevideo, Uruguay) and colleagues have published in the journal Biological Conservation on the effectiveness of bird-scaring lines and night setting in reducing seabird mortality during pelagic longlining  “Major reduction in global bycatch could be achieved, if [these] measures are widely applied.”

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Bycatch in pelagic longline fleets remains a considerable source of mortality for threatened seabirds.  Despite efforts to implement mitigation measures, the effectiveness of their application across multiple fleets and wide spatio-temporal scales remains poorly understood.  We analyse about 15,800 sets and 36.4 million hooks observed during 583 trips aboard 132 vessels from five pelagic longline fleets (Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay and foreign charter-vessels) operating in the south Atlantic and southwestern Indian Oceans (2002–2016) to assess the large-scale effect on bycatch rates of the implementation over time of night-setting and Tori (bird-scaring or streamer) lines.  There was a highly significant decrease in standardised bycatch rate from 2002 to 2008 to 2009–2011 and a further reduction in 2012–2016, as consequence of an increased use of mitigation measures.  This reduction on fleet-wide bycatch rates temporally coincides with the progressive implementation of mitigation measures in the two relevant Regional Fishery Management Organisations.  Night-setting significantly reduced bycatch rates under all conditions, particularly for albatrosses.  Surprisingly, bycatch rate during daylight was higher when Tori lines were deployed. Inconsistencies in Tori line deployments, entanglements with the fishing gear and the non-use of this measure with low seabird abundance may explain this pattern.  At night, relative moon illumination increased bycatch rate, especially of petrels, but Tori lines significantly reduced seabird bycatch.  Our results imply that a major reduction in global bycatch of threatened seabirds could be achieved, if night setting and Tori lines are correctly applied and extensively implemented by fleets operating south of 25°S.”

Reference:

Jiménez, S.,  Domingo, A., Winker, H., Parker, D., Gianuca, D., Neves, T., Coelho R. & Kerwath, S. 2020.  Towards mitigation of seabird bycatch: large-scale effectiveness of night setting and Tori lines across multiple pelagic longline fleets.  Biological Conservation doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108642.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 June  2020

A 'WAD2020’ poster in Antarctica.  "Zach” Mogale is in the front row on the right with members of South Africa's 59th Overwintering Team

Zachariah "Zach” Mogale is a meteorological technician, known as a “metkassie”, at South Africa’s SANAE IV base at Vesleskarvet in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica.  With prior experience helping with albatross studies on Gough Island he joined with his fellow team members to make a poster commemorating last week’s inaugural World Albatross Day.

The contribution from Antarctica is the first from that Continent.  It joins banners and posters displayed around the world at albatross breeding localities, including from all but one of the Parties to the Agreement that support populations of breeding albatrosses.

All the images can be viewed in an ACAP Facebook album.  At month end the top three banners as judged by the public “liking” the images will be announced.  To vote, simply visit the album with its 52 images and click on “Like’ for the one you prefer the most – or click on as many as you wish.  The top three scorers will win World Albatross Day poster prizes that will be mailed out as soon as COVID-19 restrictions allow.

With thanks to Zachariah Mogale and Michelle Risi.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 21 June 2020

SECOND UPDATE

The Short-tailed Albatross chick is reported to have successfully fledged (click here).

"The thrill of seeing this rare bird fly off into the rising sun was amplified by raising my hopes for last year’s chick, the first-ever known to have hatched on Sand Island, which also disappeared from the nest site earlier than expected in late May.” - Jonathan Plissner.

The chick has now left its nest, crossed the island on foot and was filmed on the beach and photographed in the water.  Looks like George and Geraldine's second chick will fledge successfully.  Go the to the Friends Of Midway Atoll NWR Facebook page for more photos and short video.

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The 2019/20 Short-tailed Albatross chick gets plastic Red AA09 and metal USGS Bird Banding Laboratory bands

George and Geraldine are a pair of globally Vulnerable Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus that breeds on the USA’s Midway Atoll in the North-Western Hawaiian Islands.  Last season they successfully reared their first chick to fledging.  Now it seems they are well on their way to repeating the success, with their 2019/20 chick being banded on 28 April.

Geraldine (left) and George on Midway Atoll in 2018, photograph by Madalyn Riley

“The almost four-month-old Short-tailed Albatross chick is now the size of the nearby adult Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses.  Its legs are fully developed which allowed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to band the chick.  It became the second successful chick banded on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge from the parents George and Geraldine.  The remote camera has revealed that the chick is still being fed by both parents, but the times between feeding visits will become longer until the time the chick will fledge, probably by the end of May - early June.”

The birds were seen back on Midway on 23 October last year, laid their egg on 28 October, which then hatched on 2 January.

Banding photographs by Narongkorn Thatsanangkun

Read more about George and Geraldine here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 05 May 2020, updated 31 May 2020

Aves Uruguay, the national affiliate of BirdLife International, has as its mission the research and monitoring of birds and their habitats in Uruguay.  The NGO was established in 1986 with the name Grupo Uruguayo para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves (GUPECA) in order to bring together people linked to ornithology, both researchers, teachers and students of biological sciences, as well as fans of birds.

The NGO has this week joined with other Birdlife partners and affiliates in Latin America, and from around the world, in supporting the inauguration of a World Albatross Day, bringing overall support for ‘WAD2020’ to over 50 environmental bodies.  The society’s Communication Team has written to ACAP Latest News describing the activities it has planned for today, notably a conference “The Albatross in Uruguay: their Biology and Conservation”, which is intended to be published.  In addition, informational materials and graphics are being shared through social networks.  ACAP Latest News notes with approval how Aves Uruguay has added the ‘WAD2020’ logo to its own on its Facebook page to attract the public's attention.

Black-browed Albatross in Uruguayan waters, photograph by Marcos de Campo

Uruguay is one of 13 Parties to the Agreement, having become a member on 1 Jan 2009 by accession (click here).  The country hosted the Eighth Meeting of ACAP’s Advisory Committee (AC8) in Punta del Este during September 2014.

With thanks to Marco de Campo and the Communication Team, Aves Uruguay.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 19 June 2020