An exciting and successful project has been underway in the South African deep-sea trawl fishery since 2011...it is known as the Bird Mitigation Plans (BMPs) project, which is based on a similar concept from New Zealand. Up until recently it has been run through the Responsible Fisheries Alliance and a service provider but BirdLife South Africa’s Albatross Task Force has taken responsibility of the project as it moves into its next phase in 2013.
Bird Mitigation Plans have a two step process:
1) assessing each vessel class within the South African Hake Fishery in relation to seabird bycatch risks and
2) developing risks into a plan that will introduce a standard set of procedures to reduce seabird interactions adapted to meet vessel-specific capabilities.
The BMPs do not replace the government regulations that the fishery is obligated to comply with but adds a voluntary component in which the skipper, onshore manager and a representative from the Albatross Task Force all agree to minimise accidental seabird deaths. An important part of the BMP is coming up with contingency plans in case the first mitigation option is no longer available (e.g. a bird scaring line is broken while at sea). These vessel plans are then implemented on the vessel and are audited/reviewed every two years. An important part of the BMPs is demonstrating good bird handling skills and seabird identification.
The first phase of the project was exceptionally successful as the assessments were conducted at-sea with one of the onshore managers undergoing the sea trip with the assessor – many managers had never been to sea before and now had a first-hand look at what happens when seabirds come into contact with fishing gear!
Currently 15 BMPs have been drafted, covering 25 vessels within the fleet. We have now begun reassessing these 15 vessel classes as well as starting to assess the remaining ~10 vessels within the South African fleet.
Heinz Ortmann (fellow South African ATF instructor), Mbali Mbonambi (South African ATF intern) and I conducted our first BMP assessment in June 2013 on a local freezer trawler. Unfortunately this assessment had to be done at the port but it was encouraging to see that they were spot on in terms of understanding the risks that trawl fisheries pose to seabirds and implementing all measures available to them.
We will have a second meeting with the company representatives and skippers of the vessel where we will present the assessment and the drafted BMP to ensure we are all happy. Once this has been completed all parties sign the document and it comes into effect.
This project is a long-term project with at least one vessel needing to be assessed or reassessed on a monthly basis. Mbali has been selected as the person to carry this project forward. This project is a great example of the fishery and NGOs working together to ensure seabirds are safe – even if all is going well on these vessels it is a constant reminder to the fishermen of the importance of seabirds.
Below: Trawl deck of a hake trawl vessel from South Africa