A report by Jason Jannot (Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, Washington, USA) and colleagues show that longline and trawl vessels kill mainly Black-footed Albatrosses Phoebastria nigripes among the three species of North Pacific albatrosses in USA’s west coast (Pacific) fisheries

A shortened version of the report’s Executive Summary follows:

“The California Current Ecosystem on the U.S. West Coast (Washington, Oregon, and California) supports a diversity of marine organisms, including seabirds. This report summarizes interactions between the U.S. West Coast groundfish fishery and seabirds, and presents estimates of fleetwide seabird bycatch based on data from the fishery and federal observer programs for the years 2002–16.

Lethal and nonlethal interactions, as well as sightings, are presented for five fishery sectors using hook-and-line gear, six sectors using trawl gear, and four sectors using pot gear. A total of 41 species interacted with or were sighted in these fisheries over the 2002–16 period. Twelve species are considered endangered, threatened, vulnerable, or near-threatened by the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) or the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The remaining 28 species are either not listed, or categorized as Least Concern (i.e., not at risk).

Three albatross species interact with these fisheries: black-footed, Laysan, and the ESA-listed short-tailed albatross.

To date, only one short-tailed albatross has been observed killed by these fisheries, and the mean estimated mortality for most years is less than one individual per year (Figure ES-1). However, black-footed albatross are consistently killed in a number of fishery sectors reported here. Laysan albatross have occasionally been killed by these fisheries, but the mortalities are few and infrequent. The estimated mean of non-short-tailed albatross mortalities ranged from a low of about 60 individuals in 2002 to a high of about 160 individuals in 2011 (see Other Albatross in Figure ES-1). The 2016 mean estimate of other (non-short-tailed) albatross was about 90 individuals. Other birds (i.e., not albatross) also showed a peak in mortality during the 2009–11 period of about 180–200 birds killed. The 2016 mean estimated mortality of other birds was about 120.

Hook-and-line fisheries account for the largest number of albatross taken among the three gear categories (hook-and-line, trawl, and pot). Hook-and-line fisheries account for 58–83% of seabird mortality in a given year, followed by trawl fisheries at 13–37%, and pot fisheries at 0–8% of bycatch in a given year (Table ES-1). The largest number of albatross taken comes from Limited Entry sablefish vessels fishing hook-and-line gears. This prompted regulations requiring streamer lines on hook-and-line vessels fishing in U.S. West Coast groundfish fisheries to be implemented in 2015. Bycatch of other species is generally split evenly between hook-and-line and trawl gears. Seabird mortality is likely underestimated on trawl vessels, because seabirds can be killed or injured by striking cables that exit aft of the vessel during trawling. These cables are not routinely monitored in these fisheries. Significant levels of bycatch, especially of albatross, have been recorded in similar trawl fisheries around the globe (Favero et al. 2011, Maree et al. 2014, Tamini et al. 2015). Pot gears appear to catch very few seabirds.”

Colur-banded Black-footed Albatross at sea, photograph by Vicki Miller

With thanks to Mi Ae Kim.

Reference:

Jannot, J.E., Somers, K.A., Tuttle, V., McVeigh, J. & Good, T.P. 2018.  Seabird Mortality in U.S. West Coast Groundfish Fisheries, 2002–16.  U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-146.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 12 March 2019

Luis Adasme (Departamento de Evaluación de Pesquerías, Instituto de Fomento , Valparaíso, Chile) and colleagues have published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, suggesting mitigation methods to reduce the numbers of seabirds (which included 14 ACAP-listed albatross, petrel and shearwater species) killed by Chilean trawlers.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“In world fisheries, incidental non target species mortality have turned in a permanent debate issue.  Although many studies have dealt with these interactions from a descriptive overview, there is little information based on fishing operations data.  One of the most important species that have awakened scientific concern are seabird, being southern Chile one of the areas with the highest levels in this kind of interactions. In order to improve our understanding on these relationships, we analyze records of fishing hauls of industrial trawlers off the coast of Chile between 39 and 57°S. The results showed that incidental seabird mortality appears to be affected mainly by the collisions with net monitoring systems (net-sonde cable), the duration of fishing hauls, the year period, and the fishing zones, these last related to the breeding period and areas of albatross colonies. We indirectly address a probable relationship between seabird mortality and fishing discards, and some hypothesis are proposed to explain the results. Finally, we demonstrated that longer fishing hauls are less efficient for fishing, beside to a high seabird mortality. Our findings suggest mitigation actions that would harmonize fishing activity with the ecosystem, in particular, for trawl fishing management and operations off far southern Chile.”

A Black-browed Albatross falls victim to a trawler, photograph by Graham Parker

Reference:

Adasme, L.M., Canales, C.M. & Adasme, N.A. 2019.  Incidental seabird mortality and discarded catches from trawling off far southern Chile (39–57°S).  ICES Journal of Marine Science doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz001.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 11 March 2018

Natasha Vokhshoori (Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California , USA) and colleagues have published open access in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Serieson an analysis of bones of (the now globally Vulnerable) Short-tailed Albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus found in archaeological digs.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The short-tailed albatross Phoebastria albatrus was nearly driven to extinction in the early 20th century, but is one of the most common seabirds found in coastal archaeological sites in Japan, the Aleutian Islands, and the Channel Islands off southern California. Today, this species nests on only 2 islands off southern Japan and spends the majority of its time foraging in waters west of the Aleutians. We used carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bulk tissue (bone collagen) and its constituent amino acids from modern samples of all 3 North Pacific albatross species as well as ancient short-tailed albatross to show that ancient short-tailed albatross foraged east of the Aleutian Islands more frequently than their modern counterparts. Isotope mixing models correctly assigned each species to its known foraging habitats, validating our approach on ancient short-tailed albatross. Mixing models also showed that ancient short-tailed albatross from both western and eastern North Pacific archaeological sites spent more time in the California Current than their modern congeners. However, ancient albatross remains from archaeological sites off southern California are isotopically distinct from those found in sites from the western North Pacific, suggesting this species previously had a more complex population structure. We found that modern short-tailed albatross occupy a higher trophic level than their ancient counterparts, which may be due to their consumption of bait and offal from longline fisheries. As extant short-tailed albatross recover from historical over-exploitation, the reconstruction of their historical ecology helps in identifying likely areas for foraging and possible breeding range expansion.”

Adult Short-tailed Albatross on Torishima, photograph by Hiroshi Hasegawa

Reference:

Vokhshoori, N.L., McCarthy, M.D., Collins, P.W., Etnier, M.A., Rick, T., Eda, M., Beck, J. & Newsome, S.D. 2019.  Broader foraging range of ancient short-tailed albatross populations into California coastal waters based on bulk tissue and amino acid isotope analysis.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 610: 1-13.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 08 March 2019

Audrey Cartraud (Université de la Réunion, UMR ENTROPIE, Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, France) and colleagues have published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin on ingestion of plastic by seabirds in the western Indian Ocean, including globally Endangered Barau’s Petrels Pterodroma baraui and Tropical Puffinus bailloni (Least Concern) as well as Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica  (Least Concern).

The paper’s abstract follows;

“We investigated seabird plastic ingestion in the western Indian Ocean by analyzing the stomach contents of 222 individuals belonging to nine seabird species (including two endangered species endemics to Reunion Island). The most affected species were tropical shearwaters (79%) and Barau's petrels (59%). The average number of plastic particles per containated bird was higher in Barau's petrels (6.10 ± 1.29) than in tropical shearwaters (3.84 ± 0.59). All other studied species also showed plastic presence in their stomach contents. The mass of plastic particles was significantly higher both in juvenile's Barau's petrels and tropical shearwaters than in adults. These results demonstrate the foraging areas of seabirds of the western Indian Ocean have a high level of plastic pollution. In Reunion Island, hundreds of tropical shearwaters and Barau's petrels are attracted by urban lights and die each year. We suggest taking advantage of this situation by using these species as long-term indicators of plastic marine pollution in the region.”

Tropical Shearwaters

Wedge-tailed Shearwater, photograph by Alan Burger

Reference:

Cartraud, A.E., Le Corre, M., Turquet, J. & Tourmetz, J. 2019.  Plastic ingestion in seabirds of the western Indian Ocean.  Marine Pollution Bulletin 140: 308-314.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 07 March 2019