Without doubt, the albatross are one of the groups of seabirds that need our greatest conservation effort. Commercial fisheries, through incidental capture, have generated a huge impact in many populations and almost all the species are currently in danger of extinction. As they spend the main part of their lives at sea, these species escape our view with the exception of one, not insignificant group of people: those…

The process of spreading awareness of seabird bycatch in fisheries and the work of the ATF is a topic that is very rewarding, especially when ATF instructors from other countries are able to come and share their experiences.

The ATF recently organised the first Seabird Bycatch Symposium in Chile as part of the 10^th Chilean Ornithology Congress. Leo Tamini (Aves Argentinas, the BirdLife partner and host for the ATF in…

By contrast to the well-studied trawl fisheries, the level of interaction between seabirds and purse-seine fleets remains to be unknown. This type of fishery in Chile uses nets with a small mesh size and targets pelagic fish species at the surface of the water. The nets are set in a circle, forming the ‘purse’ before closing the ‘purse strings’ – a cable that runs through rings at the bottom of the net. The vessels haul…

There has been a distinct contrast in the background scenery to the work we have been conducting in Chile recently. Personally, I have been just as busy working at-sea on fishing vessels as I have generating awareness of our work through an ornithology congress and public talks.

The first of these has been the backbone of our work for 2011, I refer to the monitoring and experimental work we are conducting on board the…

Hi everybody! I’m writing to share some news from my last trip in southern Brazil. I left port Rio Grande on board the FV Maria, a wooden longline vessel under the command of captain Beto, a new collaborator with Projeto Albatroz and the ATF in Brazil.

Beto guided us out toward deeper waters off the southernmost port in Brazil, immediately adjacent to the Uruguayan border, and we started fishing in waters around…

For many of us the recurring theme of the enormous accumulation of waste caused by human activities is a great concern. Through the ebb and flow of our daily lives, we discard large volumes of both solid and liquid waste products. Indeed, the current rate of consumption of biosphere resources means we need about one and a half additional planets just to satisfy our disproportionate demands.

One of the most prominent…

There have been some remarkable highlights recently with the second Instructors Workshop held in Piriapolis, Uruguay being one of them. That was an inspiring week, but there were some tense moments beforehand as our visas were only granted three days before we had to fly out of Walvis Bay. Cutting it a bit fine! Thanks to the Uruguayan team for organising such a wonderful event. Check out the pictures on the Albatross…

I have just returned from another trip with Projeto Albatroz, this time with the 22 meter King of Tuna, where I enjoyed many new experiences at sea and also shared information with the crew about our wonderful seabirds.

We left port Itajaí at 11:00 a.m with a full complement of nine crew members. The King of Tuna boat is operated by fishing master Juninho who targets swordfish and tuna.

We sailed for two days…

This last trip to sea was onboard a vessel dedicated to catching swordfish and tuna. My goal was to continue experimenting with the tori lines we have been designing and testing in pelagic fisheries in Uruguay.

We conducted seven fishing operations, three with a tori line and four without. Despite an entanglement with the line, the tori lines again demonstrated that they are a good option for mitigating seabird …

The day was a Sunday and the weather was not so great. Gusty winds exceeding 5 on the Beaufort scale coupled with big swells of more than 4 metres in height pretty much dominated that afternoon. Intermittent gusts of wind made it difficult for standard fishing operations on the day but the persistence and determination of the fishing master (i.e the skipper) diffused into each member of the crew and they pressed…

Arriving at night to the trawl fishing vessel, Bonn, I took began my first sea trip with ATF - Chile. The next day amongst the unforgettable roll of the sea, I immediately set to work as the fishing operation started, as demands our role as ATF Instructors. As I began I reflected that this work goes beyond the normal routine of a normal job. Like our friends the albatrosses and petrels, we head out to sea to face the…

Hi everybody!

I have good news from Brazil. The Brazilian Ministries of Fisheries and Environment signed a new law, that means any pelagic longline vessel fishing below the 20° S must now use tori lines during all setting operations and include a weight of at least 60 g placed no more than two meters from the hook. This is a direct result of ATF research! We showed that putting weights close to the hook, makes the…

I have recently done three consecutive at-sea trips in order to test mitigation measures that reduce seabird by catch, so I have a lot of stories to tell! The trips were aboard the 18 m long, wooden longliner Anarthur. The Anarthur’s skipper is called Darke, who works in collaboration with Projeto Albatroz and project Tamar (a local sea turtle conservation group). Captian Darke adopts mitigation measures like the…

Unfortunately seabirds caught as byctach in pelagic longline fisheries are generally only brought onboard once they are already dead (they are hooked and drown during the set when lines sink into the water). 
In Uruguay birds killed at sea are returned to the laboratory for analysis. By doing so we can recover valuable information that helps us identify the problem and ultimately work to improve their conservation. 

During…

Hello friends of the seabirds!

I am back from field work to tell you about another adventure from Projeto Albatroz, this time on board the Gera IX vessel from port Itajaí, Brazil. Our journey begins at the Jorge Seif Fishing Company of Itajaí, from where we hauled anchor with fishing master Juninho (Ju-nee-nyo) and steamed south towards the Rio Grande coast, in search of large shoals of swordfish, sharks…

When we are on board, we often see commercial shipping waste dumped into the sea. In general this includes food scraps and cardboard used by the crew but sometimes pieces of plastic that is very harmful to the marine environment is dumped. There are different materials that are permitted to be discarded at sea, depending on the area where the vessel is working, but dumping plastic is prohibited under any circumstances…

A lot has happened since my last diary. First of all we celebrated a fantastic year for the ATF team in Brazil! We acheived something we have all been working toward - "zero birds captured" during our ATF trips at-sea in the longline fishery – a huge result! However, our work is not done! We now need to help the entire fleet adopt the measures we have shown work so well.

This year we are also ready…

Last month we had a special visit in Mar del Plata from ATF Chile! After a long trip by plane, ferry and bus Cristián Suazo arrived in our city with the objectives of perfecting onboard safety protocols, discussing the various fishing operations onboard trawl vessels and going over the available materials and construction methods for trawl mitigation measures.

We also took time out to visit the ports and…

Wow, what an event it was. The event was so immaculately organised in such a beautiful country like Uruguay. I personally was elated to meet the entire Albatross Task Force (ATF) team for the first time. The event had such an awesome atmosphere with such fascinating people who possess so much knowledge and passion about the conservation of seabirds. One of the objectives of the workshop was to get an overview of…

It was one of the most beautiful afternoons and an anxious one for me. The design of a demersal trawler struck my attention. It is such an incredible feeling that one needs to be actually onboard a trawler to begin to comprehend such a euphoria.

The smell of diesel and oil on the vessel couldn’t dampen the elation I had. The slight seasickness tried but without success to deter my excitement. The wobble movement…

During one of my recent sea trips I was very excited to see that one of the skippers that we have been working with for over 3 years had a new piece of equipment.  He had a brand new camera and lens! He could not wait to tell me that he has taken up the hobby of photography of all marine life while he has the time and opportunity at sea. He is putting together his own personal collection of photographs of all the…

In April a ‘Friends of the Albatross’ event was held by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International at the Scott Polar Institute in Cambridge. The event brought together more than 80 albatross enthusiasts who gathered to hear the latest news from Cleo Small, Euan Dunn, Ben Sullivan and a special guest in the UK from Argentina - your’s truly! 

We really had an excellent…