In Chile we recently took part in the XXXII Congress of Marine Sciences, organized by the Marine Sciences Society and the University of Magallanes. This annual event brings together all the disciplines related to the ocean, and on this occasion we presented our work with albatross and fisheries.
We gave two presentations, the first at a Biodiversity and Conservation seminar. In this instance, my colleague Cristian Suazo presented "Albatross as indicators of environmental change and human activity in sub-Antarctic waters of Chile" in which he spoke about questions related to albatrosses in the context of climate change, the incidence of seabirds found with ingested hooks that had been discarded from fishing operations and also the consumption of plastics by seabirds.
Cristian highlighted the role of albatrosses as indicators of environmental change in different contexts, such as spatial (foraging) and temporal (historical development of the interaction between birds and human activities).
The second presentation was given within the symposium "Challenges for marine conservation planning in the Southern Cone", organized by the Ministry of Environment (Government of Chile), the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Center for Marine Conservation at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
This time, the issue we presented was "Death of seabirds in Chilean fisheries: collaboration toward solutions in a regional and global context." This presentation reviewed the context of bycatch at a global and local level, highlighting the work of ATF-Chile in reducing the negative interaction of seabirds with different industrial fishing activities. We also discussed the role of the ATF as a key initiative at driving collaboration at a local, but also global level.
On both occasions the room was full of people, mainly students of careers related to marine science, research and teaching universities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies among others. These indicators of attendance and interest reflect the emerging role of conservation actions in Chilean waters.
Thus, ATF-Chile has formed an important role in the scientific community, both in the presentation of research effort at-sea and raising awareness towards the conservation of the fragile marine biodiversity, such as albatrosses and petrels in Chile and beyond.
Below: presenting the work of the ATF in Chile at the Biodiversity and Conservation seminar. Photo: Carlos Silva-Quintas