I have been on dry land!
The whole Albatross Task Force team in Chile - that's Dr Carlos Moreno, Rodrigo, Humberto, Oli and myself - have been working closely together. We don't often get this chance as we are based in different locations in Chile.
We got together to meet the industrial sword fish fleet and provide some workshops for them in February at the Universidad Católica del Norte.
First, we met the fishing companies, captains and crew of the swordfish fleet. We told them about our first year of running an Albatross Task Force in their country. We made sure that they went away with knowledge about the mitigation measures they can use to prevent seabird deaths on their longline vessels.
Then we held a specific workshop for the scientific observers who will be monitoring seabirds and the vessels out at sea. As I'm an ornithologist, I was in my element.
The observers need to be able to identify seabirds correctly, particularly ones that interact with the sword fish fleet. So I showed them photos, gave them new ID materials we had prepared and I ran a bird quiz for them.
I found it was a great experience to meet the various captains and crew and see their enthusiasm to help conserve seabirds in this fishery.