José Fernández-Costa (Instituto Español de Oceanografía, A Coruña, Spain) and colleagues submitted a document on “interactions” (=bycatch?) with seabirds by a Spanish longline fishery targeting swordfish in the Indian Ocean to the 12th Meeting of the Working Party on Ecosystems and Bycatch (WPEB12) of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) held in Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles earlier this month.

The document’s summary follows:

“A total of 310 fishing sets (361,608 hooks) targeting swordfish in the Indian Ocean (lat ≥ 25ºS) between 2011-2015 were analyzed.  The areas included in the study are between 25º-36ºS and 34º-72ºE.  However, the interaction with seabirds was restricted to areas between 31º-36ºS and 37º-48ºE during the January-April period.  A total of 19 seabird individuals during the whole period 2011-2015, identified as belonging to seven species, interacted with the fishing operation (Diomedea exulans, Phoebetria fusca, Procellaria aequinoctialis, Thalassarche carteri, Thalassarche cauta, Thalassarche melanophris, Thalassarche salvini). Most interactions occurred in one year-months and in a single 5ºx5º square.  Interactions observed in other areas were minor or regularly null.  The overall rate of interaction estimated for areas lat ≥ 25ºS and species combined was estimated at 5.254E-05 seabird/hook.  Night setting and low levels of lighting during setting operations as well as other fishing protocols applied by the vessels were identified as the most important factors to explain the regularly low or null interaction with seabirds.

Sightings of seabirds were also made during the trips studied, most of them occurring during daytime sailing.  Procellaria aequinoctialis was identified as the most prevalent species in sightings.  Other less prevalent species were identified as Phoebetria fusca, Thalassarche carteri, Diomedea exulans, Thalassarche cauta, Pterodroma macroptera, Thalassarche salvini and very sporadically Sulidae/Laridae, Oceanites spp. and Ardena pacifica (sic).  The paper also summarizes the mitigation regulations put in place at national level for reducing the incidental bycatch of seabirds in the longline fleet in the Indian Ocean.”

White-chinned Petrel killled by a longline hook, photograph by Nicolas Gasco 

Reference:

Fernández-Costa, J., Ramos-Cartelle, A., Carroceda, A. & Mejut, J. 2016.  Interaction between seabirds and Spanish surface longline targeting swordfish in the Indian Ocean (Lat ≥ 25º south) during the period 2011-2015.  IOTC-2016-WPEB 12-29.  11 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 03 October 2016

Igor Debski (Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand) and colleagues submitted a document on the distribution of threatened New Zealand seabirds in the Pacific to the 12th Regular Session of the Scientific Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Bali, Indonesia this August.

The document’s abstract follows:

We present a summary of the most relevant and up to date distributional information for New Zealand breeding seabird species identified as at highest risk from fisheries bycatch.  The foraging range of these species is overlaid with the spatial application of CMM 2012-07 to mitigate the impact of fishing for highly migratory fish stocks on seabirds.  Building on information previously considered by the Science Committee, we assess how fishing impacts can best be mitigated for these most at-risk seabirds, with a particular focus on the spatial application of mitigation in the southern Pacific.”

More information on submissions to recent WCPFC meetings here.

A Shy Albatross trails a fishing line, photograph by Robert Hynson

Reference:

Debski, I., Freydís Hjörvarsdóttir, F. & Knowles, K. 2016.  Distribution of highly at-risk New Zealand seabirds in the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission area. WCPFC-SC12-2016/ EB-WP-09 Rev 1.  7 pp.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 30 September 2016

Yukiko Inoue (National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Shizuoka, Japan) and colleagues submitted a paper on seabird bycatch to the 12th Meeting of the Working Party on Ecosystems and Bycatch (WPEB12) of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) held in Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles earlier this month.

The document’s abstract follows:

“We analyzed the factor affecting bycatch occurrence rate.  Random forest was applied to analyze.  We constructed four models examining effect of species group, season, year, environmental factors, distance from the colonies, a lunar phase, and catch of fish.  Our model was likely to be a statistically appropriate model because out of bags is an acceptable range though a little high.  Dominant variables in common with analyzed four models were latitude, longitude, elapsed days from the first day of the year, number of observed hooks, species group, sea surface temperature in this study.  Also year, cruise ID and lunar phase were dominant variables in common with two to three models.  Those variables would have the large impact on bycatch occurrence rate.  Thus, it was suggested that those variables should be considered in the comparison between CPCs and in the collaboration work.”

Reference:

Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross near Amsterdam Island, photograph by Kirk Zufelt

Inoue, Y., Kanaiwa, M., Yokawa, K. & Oshima, K. 2016.  Examination of factors affecting seabird bycatch occurrence rate in southern hemisphere in Japanese longline fishery with using random forest.  IOTC–2016–WPEB12–INF07.  Unpaginated.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 September 2016

Laurie Thiers and colleagues (Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé, Villiers en Bois, France) have published in the journal Polar Biology on utilizing at-sea distributions of marine top predators to choose a Marine Protected Area around the Kerguelen Islands.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“The French Kerguelen Archipelago represents an important breeding place for many species of marine top predators within the Southern Ocean, making the plateau hosting the archipelago and surrounding waters (CCAMLR area 58.5) a crucial area to design conservation measures.  In this study, available tracking data from nine species of seabirds and marine mammals breeding at Kerguelen were analysed to define potential boundaries for a Marine Protected Area.  Maps of time spent per square of each species were first used to describe high-use areas within the Kerguelen Plateau.  Habitat models were then developed for four species (Black-browed albatross, Wandering albatross, King penguin and Antarctic fur seal) chosen on the basis of their contrasted foraging ecology and diet to represent the top predator community.  Predictive models were then applied to the main colonies of the four species for which no tracking data were available to illustrate the most important feeding areas at the scale of the entire study zone.  An area delineated by the central part of the plateau and its slopes appeared to be of great importance for the top predators’ community and would appropriately complete the limits of the existing Australian marine reserve of Heard and McDonald Islands.”

Wandering Albatross at sea, photograph by John Chardine 

Reference:

Thiers, L. Delord, K., Bost, C.-A., Guinet, C. & Weimerskirch, H. 2016.  Important marine sectors for the top predator community around Kerguelen Archipelago.  Polar Biology DOI: 10.1007/s00300-016-1964-4.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 September 2016