The other night, while onboard a stern trawl vessel, I found a Thin-billed prion on deck. These birds don’t often come close enough to the fishing vessels that you can get a good look at them so it was really interesting to find one. It had flown into the side of the bridge in the blustery weather we have in the South of Argentina.
This not only caused issues for the prion, but also for me. Our best observation platform for work on the trawl vessels is several metres above the aft deck between gantries where the nets are stowed. We spend a lot of time there to collect data on the interactions with the trawl cables but in really rough weather it can get pretty tricky.
To avoid being flipped out into the stormy sea, I built a harness which I used to strap myself into a nest of nets and ropes. Secure and with the best view of the trawl operation I carried on through the worst of the weather. We had a lot of bird activity, commonly recording Giant petrels alighting on the nets as the crew hauled them in. In contrast the Royal albatross stay back away from the nets, paddling in the water and using their huge size to intimidate the other birds away from the fishery scraps.
Feeling pleased with my harness, I worked my way along the deck one morning to take up my position amongst the stowed nets just to find a shock: everything was thick with grease! One of the pipes used to lubricate the enormous trawl blocks (that support the trawl cables) had burst, pumping thick grease exactly where I had set up my observation deck.
I ended up covered in grease, sliding about on top of the nets like a comical ice-skater – I must have looked like I was dancing! It took me ages to sort it out and get back to my routine. Not a pretty sight..
After 35 days at-sea we began one of the most pleasing moments of sea time, arriving in port. This had been one of my best trips so far as within the crew there was a lot of collaboration and support that made the hard work more enjoyable.
Until next time,
Nahuel