This blog was written by Sergio Pingo Paiva for ProDelphinus.
Going to sea on the north coast of Peru is always very exciting as with each trip comes many surprises. These waters are rich in biodiversity due to the influence of cold currents from the south and tropical currents from the north.
The purse seine boats I have been working on usually leave port at night, but a sense of excitement keeps the tiredness at bay as anything can happen in the blink of an eye.
The outward journey is long, as we are searching for good fishing areas, so it takes some patience. In the darkness of the night I watch silhouettes of seabirds and I hear the cries of the hungry sea lions.
When a potentially good place for fishing has been found, the teams of fishermen begin to work. While this takes place so does the feast for seabirds; large numbers of Peruvian boobies and blue-footed boobies throw themselves into the circular nets in search of their prey. Gulls and frigate birds fight for the fish trapped in the purse seine and activity increaases as the purse closes, bringing the fish to the surface. Inevitably big sea lions snatch fish from the nets, diving easily in and out over the buoy ropes.
During the trip, Humboldt penguins crowd around the boat momentarily before "flying" away through the water to catch their own fish. The work is hard overnight but nothing is more satisfying for me to see so many birds together in their natural habitat.