Tori lines (or bird-scaring lines) are one of the measures most commonly used to reduce seabirds from being accidentally killed by longline vessels.
In previous years we have undertaken trips on Uruguayan longline vessels to get crews to use them. Unfortunately, we've found that some tori lines can become entangled with the fishing gear when the fishing lines are set. They can also cause delays in the fishing operation – hence why they've not been well received by crews.
This year, we've been asking our fellow Albatross Task Force crews working in other countries to come up with a solution. And we think the Brazil team have come up with something....
During my last trip in May we tested their design on a fisheries research cruise with the rest of the Uruguayan Task Force team. We were able to make some modifications throughout the trip, and now seabirds are can't access the baited hooks as the longline is set.
These modifications improved the performance of the tori line, and the results were a double positive as there were fewer entanglements with the fishing gear.
We are now preparing further sea trips where we will use the tori lines on vessels from the Uruguayan commercial fleet., and test the tori lines success at reducing the capture of albatross and petrels..