Hello everybody!
I have just returned from my first cruise leaving from the port of Rio Grande. I already knew the skipper, Mr. Celso, as he has helped us with the conservation of albatrosses in the past. But he has just changed boat to smaller one, and this new one did not have a tori line installed! As Celso knows of the proposed mitigation measures, he has been setting the fishing gear late at night to avoid seabird bycatch.
Celso is a good captain, he is aware that by only using this measure there is still a risk of catching seabirds, so we are now helping him install a tori line on the new vessel.
As we were at sea for just nine days, it was a very short trip when compared it to typical pelagic longline trip. This is because Celso was aiming to get the fish to market as quickly as possible.
He also changed the fishing gear configuration; making the length of the hook lines and buoy lines longer. This helps catch fish at greater depths, targeting several species of tuna. This configuration also reduces the incidental capture of sea turtles, which is good for turtle conservation as they’re caught more often in shallower waters. As long as we can make sure we keep the lines correctly weighted, this change will not risk capture of seabirds.
Many seabirds followed the ship, including wandering albatrosses, giant petrels, yellow-nosed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, spectacled petrels, white-chinned petrels, fulmars and many storm petrels. With so many birds attending the vessel, our night setting regime clearly helped achieve a zero mortality count.
During the trip, we also encountered a family of orcas and a large group of dolphins! These are frequent visitors that we see off the coast of Brazil and always provide us with an exhilarating experience as we work on deck with the fishermen.
The sea was relatively calm, but as the boat was tiny, it felt like a storm! Although I regularly fell over on deck, it does not show inexperience, as despite their sea legs three fishermen also fell more than once in the slippery conditions! It is a good opportunity for me to emphasize that we are not in our natural environment at sea - we are always visitors, so we must respect it!
Finally guys, I hope I've shared some of my work experiences, which I am very positive and enthusiastic about!
Let’s keep saving the birds! Until next time…