Last month I attended a roundtable discussion on interactions between marine megafauna and fisheries. This was part of the III Academic Symposium of Marine Biology, which took place in Tramandaí, southern Brazil.
The symposium was sponsored by the Academic Board of a Biological Sciences course (Marine Biology and Coastal and Marine and Management) conducted by two important universities, the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and University of Rio Grande do Sul State (UERGS).
It brings together students and professionals from various education levels related principally to the areas of Biology, Marine Biology, Environmental Management. Issues discussed on the course relate to Marine Biology and Environmental Management, as well as research conducted in this field. The course provides professional training in these areas.
I was invited to give a presentation on the topic of “Seabirds and fisheries interactions”. Other attendants (and their presentation topics) included Dr. Jorge Kotas (impact of fisheries on sharks), Dr. Ignacio Moreno (impact of fisheries on marine mammals) and Rodrigo Machado (sea lion-fishery interactions). Each participant provided a 40 minute presentation after which we discussed the various issues and answered questions from the audience. Around 170 people, mostly undergraduate students were present.
The students were very interested in the conservation issues and the discussion was really productive. One of the interesting issues to come out of the discussion was that public opinion and responsible consumption of seafood are very important mechanisms for marine conservation, something that depends of each one of us as citizens.
It was a great experience to see so many future professionals interested in marine conservation and thinking of ways to mitigate current problems. It was a great chance to present our work and deliver a conservation message on preventing seabird deaths in fisheries and trying to save the albatross from extinction.
Best wishes!