Archived News

The following news item was posted recently to the Seabirds.net member discussion group (click here).

“We have recently made New Zealand seabird bycatch data available at data.dragonfly.co.nz/psc/.  The website presents data on seabird captures reported by fisheries observers in trawl and longline fisheries, between 2002–03 and 2010–11.  In addition to observed captures, estimates of total captures are available for New Zealand white-capped albatross, white-chinned petrel, sooty shearwater, other albatrosses, and other birds.

The bycatch data may be browsed by taxa, fishery, area, and fishing-year.  There is a wealth of information here.  For example, you may be interested in data on white-capped albatross captures in squid trawl fisheries, which appear to show a decline in catch-rates since the introduction of warp mitigation from 2006.  Or you may be interested in black-petrel captures in the snapper bottom-longline fishery, as black petrel are [sic] the species most at risk from New Zealand fisheries.

You are welcome to use these data for any other purpose. All data are copyright the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, but are made available for reuse under a creative commons attribution 3.0 licence. You may also use the graphics from this site in other publications, blog posts, or wherever you like, provided again that acknowledgement is given.”

Whie-capped Albatross: endemic to New Zealand

Photograph by Matt Charteris

Selected References:

Abraham, E.R. & Thompson, F.N. 2011.  Estimated capture of seabirds in New Zealand trawl and longline fisheries, 2002–03 to 2008–09. New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No. 79.  74 pp.

Download from Ministry for Primary Industries

Abraham, E.R. & Thompson, F.N. 2011.  Summary of the capture of seabirds, marine mammals, and turtles in New Zealand commercial fisheries, 1998–99 to 2008–09. New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No. 80.  170 pp.

Download from Ministry for Primary Industries

Abraham, E.R., Thompson, F.N. & Berkenbusch, K. 2013.  Estimated Capture of Seabirds in New Zealand Trawl and Longline Fisheries, 2002–03 to 2010–11.  Final Research Report for Ministry for Primary Industries project PRO2010-01 (Unpublished report held by Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington).

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 13 May 2013