The 10th Regular Session of the Scientific Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC-SC10) will meet in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands from 6 to 14 August.  ACAP’s Executive Secretary, Warren Papworth will attend the meeting where a discussion is expected on the report (EB-GN-03) of a working group on electronic reporting and monitoring.

Under its Ecosystems and Bycatch Mitigation Theme the WCPFC Scientific Committee will also consider paper EB-IP-01 (previously published in the on-line journal PLoS One) by Eric Gilman and colleagues on the subject of mitigating seabird bycatch during hauling by pelagic longline vessels.

Another paper, authored by the National Research Institute of Far Sea Fisheries, addresses the utilization of mitigation techniques to reduce seabird bycatch in Japanese small-sized longline vessels (EB-WP-07).  The paper’s abstract follows:

“To discuss effective and suitable seabird bycatch mitigation measures for small sized longline vessels (< 20 tonnage), information of utilization of seabird mitigation techniques voluntarily used in seventeen vessels were collected from a hearing [sic] survey.  In all vessels fishermen used tori-line (bird-scaring line) and they deployed three types of tori-lines (with streamers, without streamers and direct connection of long streamers on poles).  Many fishermen concerned entanglement tori-line materials with main line of longline in the rough sea hence attachment of streamers on tori-lines for small vessels should be carefully considered.  In order to attain effective sink rate for branch line, seven vessels (41%) used weighed branch line and five vessels (29%) used fluorocarbon for branch line.  In addition, this some vessels tried strategic offal discharge to put seabird assemblage away from line setting area.  These information are useful to develop suitable mitigation techniques in small sized longline vessels.  Some of measures introduced in that fishery are worth to examine for effectiveness.”

A third paper (EB-WP-06) from the National Taiwan Ocean University reports on seabird (including albatross) and sea turtle bycatch by Taiwanese tuna longline fleets in the Pacific Ocean.

A fourth paper (EB-IP-10) from the USA considers seabird interaction rates in the Hawaii‐based shallow and deep‐set longline fisheries by vessel size as estimated from observer data over the period 2004 to 2013.

Click here to access an earlier report in ACAP Latest News on e-monitoring by the WCPFC.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 23 July 2014

Back in April, ACAP Latest News reported on a contravention of the Conservation Measures of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) that reportedly led to the deaths of 74 ACAP-listed listed White-chinned Petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis in the South Atlantic by a fishing vessel targeting Patagonian Toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides (click here).

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A hooked White-chinned Petrel, photograph by Nicolas Gasco

News is now in that the incident has led to the issuing of a substantial fine as quoted below:

“An administrative penalty has been issued to the charters of a licensed longline vessel as a result an infringement of one of the CCAMLR Conservation Measures.  The penalty notice was issued on April 30th and related to an event in [a] toothfish fishery on April 13th, 2014.

The penalty was a result of the vessel completing the setting of a line after nautical twilight (dawn), which is a contravention of the night setting requirement designed to reduce seabird mortality in longline fisheries. The late setting of the line is likely to have contributed to the incidental mortality of 74 white-chinned petrels which were caught during setting of the line. This incidental mortality event is the largest in the fishery for over 10 years.  The vessel operators subsequently admitted the offence and were issued with a penalty of  30,000.” (click here).

Mitigation measures in the fishery have now been adjusted so that vessels complete the setting of lines at least three hours before sunrise until 15 May to reduce the risk of incidental capture of any more White-chinned Petrels.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 22 July 2014

The Eighth Meeting of the Advisory Committee (AC8) of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) will be held from Monday, 15 September to Friday, 19 September 2014, at the Barradas Hotel, Punta del Este, Uruguay (click here).

This will be the first time ACAP has met in Uruguay.  Previously it has met in all the other South American countries which are Parties to the Agreement: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

Meetings of the Advisory Committee’s Population and Conservation Status Working Group (PaCSWG) and Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG) will precede AC8.  These meetings will also be held at the Barradas Hotel, from Monday 8 to Tuesday 9 September (PaCSWG), and Wednesday 10 to Friday 12 September (SBWG).  A Heads of Delegation meeting will be convened on Sunday, 14 September 2014 in the evening.

Meeting documents for AC8 and its working groups will appear prior to the meetings in Punta del Este on this web site.  A glimpse at the provisional agenda for the Advisory Committee reveals that as well as considering reports of the working groups (including of its Taxonomy Working Group) it will also consider any proposals brought forward by Parties to list new species within the Agreement.

Tristan Albatross in Uruguayan waters, photograph by Martin Abreu

A key task for this meeting will be to prepare a summary report on Parties’ progress with implementation of the Agreement.  Because this report will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Agreement coming into effect it is an important milestone and an opportune time to reflect on the achievements made by Parties in improving the conservation status of albatrosses and petrels.

Reports on current work programmes and those proposed for the next triennium for both Advisory Committee and Secretariat will also be reviewed, for consideration and adoption by Parties at the next Session of the Meeting of ACAP Parties due to be held in 2015.

John Cooper ACAP Information Officer, 21 July 2014

Over the last decade or so much effort has been put into ways of reducing the mortality of albatrosses and petrels in longline fisheries.  Mitigation measures currently considered to be best practice are the deployment of twinned bird-scaring lines, line weighting and night setting.

Various other techniques have been developed and tested over the years.  Now a new idea from a UK company set up last year, Hookpod Ltd, is aiming to undertake commercial trials with its invention.

According to the company “[t]he Hookpod is an incredibly clever device which provides fishermen with an easy to use and durable way of protecting the barb of hook during setting.  With a built in LED light and weighting, it reduces the need for light sticks and additional weights, thus reducing costs and marine waste.  It also saves your crews setting time and is very effective at reducing accidental bycatch of seabirds.  Designed to last for hundreds of sets over 3 years of operation, the Hookpod provides a single measure to reduce seabird bycatch and ensure fishing operations are as quick, safe and effective as possible.”

Read more about the Hookpod here and here.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 20 July 2014