Surfbirds News

Published in the journal Animal Conservation, the study was based on scientists monitoring catches on 14 different vessels, operating in the Benguela Current, off South Africa; one of the main hotspots for seabirds in the Southern Hemisphere. The vessels were trawling for hake, and the majority of bird deaths were a result of collisions with wires – known as warp lines – leading from the stern of the vessels.

'We believe the seabird deaths the scientists recorded might be just the tip of the iceberg', said John Croxall, Chair of BirdLife’s Global Seabird Programme. 'It suggests that around 18,000 seabirds may be killed annually in this fishery alone,' he added.

Black-browed Albatross © James Lowen, from the surfbirds galleries

'Most mortality relates to the dumping of fishing waste behind the boat. This attracts seabirds which can either hit the warp lines or become entangled in the nets,' commented Dr Croxall.

Fisheries, including long-lining and trawling, are believed to kill 100,000 albatrosses annually. Eighteen of the world’s 22 species of albatross are facing extinction, and bycatch in fisheries is the most significant threat to the family worldwide.

The species killed during the study include South African breeding species such as Cape gannet, and species like the white-chinned petrel, sooty shearwater, and black-browed and shy albatrosses, which visit the Benguela Current region from nesting islands dotted around the Southern Ocean.

'The impact of this one local fishery has very widespread geographical repercussions', warned Dr Croxall. 'Potential mortality at this scale for the albatrosses is unsustainable'.

Barry Watkins, the lead author of the paper, said: 'Watching birds drown accidentally on the trawl warps is a very sad sight as these magnificent birds are just trying to feed themselves with no harm to any of us.'

Data of this nature are very difficult to obtain, as fatal collisions are relatively rare events. However, collecting this information is an obligation - under the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement and the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing - on the managers and practitioners of a fishery. 'One would hope that further data like these will now become available through appropriate collaborations involving fishery managers', noted Dr Croxall.

Potential solutions to reduce seabird mortality, such as improving waste management and using devices protecting warp cables from bird strikes, already exist. BirdLife International believes addressing the problems requires a combination of:

implementing best-practice mitigation measures immediately, and making such measures a requirement for appropriate fisheries;

and conducting research to improve mitigation measures.

BirdLife’s Albatross Task Force (ATF) is addressing these issues. The ATF, which is funded by the RSPB, has developed the world’s first international team of mitigation instructors working with fishermen and government agencies in global bycatch ‘hotspots’, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Namibia, South Africa and Uruguay. ATF instructors routinely show that the adoption of mitigation measures are both operationally and economically effective.