Less than 24 hours after I sent my first diary, I finally received a long awaited call allowing me to board the FV Sirius III, a 60 metre-long 'freshie' trawler ship. I left the Mar del Plata port on 26 April at 6 pm. We started the voyage with a hard swell and the skipper Ruben Rodriguez, who has a long experience in these waters; we started our trip in the south, but hakes are in the northern waters!
My main objective of this first trip on Argentinean waters was to make new contact with the fishery, the crews of these vessels and find out how many seabirds are currently dying in this fishery. Also, it is crucial for future work to get empathy with the vessel's crew straightaway. The target species captured by this fishery is the Argentina hake, but rays and pink cusk-eel are commercial, too.
In the first two days of fishing, the swell and wind were hard with waves of more than four metres. This meant more seabirds to see and enjoy! Black-browed albatrosses, white-chinned petrels and great shearwaters are very common in this fishing ground. Southern giant, Wilson's storm and cape petrels can also be seen but the best days saw the appearance of royal and shy albatrosses.
By the end of the trip, I had recorded the capture of three great shearwaters entangled in the net. The vulnerability resides with their skill for diving. When they submerge they get entangled with the net at the moment the fishermen haul the catch.
Another source of seabird mortality in this fishery is the impacts against the warp cables. In a few words, the net works on the sea bottom and the vessel pushes it from the surface. The cables connect the vessel and the net. Seabirds typically fly and forage near to the vessels looking for discarded fish and occasionally collide with the cables.
From 34.5 hours of cable observations, I recorded 154 impacts of seabirds. Only four caused damage to the seabirds (two great shearwaters and two black-browed albatrosses). One of the albatrosses was possibly killed by the impact, but it is difficult to determine.
Accurate observations on cables are very important because is the only way to find out and record these kind of events. Once dead, the birds normally get washed off the cables and sink quite deep, so the probability of recovering the dead birds is low. This means our ability to estimate the true impact of the fishery is reduced.
Twenty men were the crew of the Sirius III, half of them fishermen who have contact with the net, the catch and eventually seabirds. So this is the more important portion of the crew in relation to our work. Fortunately, they have showed an interest in learning more about seabirds.
A Wilson's storm petrel collided against the hull of the vessel during a night haul. The bird survived unhurt and it was an excellent opportunity for showing them the beak, wings and feet of the birds. This activity triggers a lot of questions about seabirds.
My return was on 9 May at 1 am to a luminous Mar del Plata.