MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Faklands implements second plan to reduce seabird mortality in trawling fishery

A trawler is followed by seabirds while discarding fish offal

The Falkland Islands recently adopted their second Plan of Action to reduce seabird mortality due to trawling activity. The first plan of action was approved in 2004 following the work of SAST (Seabird at Sea Team), a collaborative project between Falklands Conservation and RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).

Further work conducted since 2004 by the APP (Albatross and Petrel Programme), with collaboration from the fisheries observers since 2006, has been the base for the re-evaluation of the initial plan.

Four years of APP observers’ work at sea brought up new and more detailed information relating to the sources and magnitude of seabird incidental mortality due to interactions with trawling fishing gear and its mitigation.

The trawling fleet operating in the Falklands is mostly formed by demersal trawlers fishing at the bottom of the sea, and a small group of pelagic trawlers fishing in the water column.

In both cases, the incidental mortality registered is linked with the presence of fish enmeshed on the net or discards of fish offal, undersize catch and non-commercial species. The demersal fleets’ main source of seabird incidental mortality is the interaction of seabirds with warp cables (the cable used to tow the net).

What attracts the seabirds to the proximity of the warp cables is the presence of discards on the cables’ vicinity.

Seabirds feeding on the discards are unaware of the warp cables that are constantly cutting the water due to the pitching movement of the vessel.

The speed at which the cable cuts the water is increased in bad weather, provoking an increase in interactions and its severity.

On the other hand, in the pelagic fleet, the main source of mortality is the interaction of seabirds with the net in pursuit of enmeshed catch. In this case the main factor is the mesh size, which is big enough to allow the seabird to pass through and become enmeshed.

This is aggravated by the time the net spends at seabird diving depths, or at the surface of the water.

Pelagic nets, with a bigger overall size than demersal nets, spend longer periods at those critical depths, increasing the chances of interaction with seabirds.

As evidences of seabird mortality sources were found, mitigation measures have been evaluated, adapted and trialled in collaborative projects between Falklands Conservation, FIG Fisheries, fishing companies and vessel crews.

Based on the obtained results, a set of mitigation measures tackling the identified problems has been implemented in the licence conditions of the trawling fleet to minimise the impact trawling activity may have on seabird populations.

The plan adopted by the Falkland Islands contains extensive background information and a detailed framework for the next four years, outlining those aspects which may need further investigation to ensure a negative impact on seabirds due to trawling activity and, in general, fishing activity to diminish.

For those interested in this topic, the plan and its summary can be obtained either from Falklands Conservation or from the Falkland Islands Government.

The plan should be shortly available on the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department webpage (http://fis.com/falklandfish/).

Finally, Falklands Conservation would like to thank all sources of funds received since the beginning of this project, the unconditional help of many collaborators and the work of all those observers from SAST, APP and FIFD who spent countless hours exposed to the elements collecting the invaluable information at sea.

Esther Sancho - Penguin News  - Stanley