Ndamona Mateus is part of our team of dedicated instructors based in Namibia. She recently spent just over a week on board a fishing vessel, her first trip out as an ATF instructor. Our ATF teams spend weeks at sea checking that fishers are using life-saving seabird bycatch mitigation measures and building invaluable relationships with the fishing community. Ndamona shares her first experience..
Ndamona on board the fishing vessel, hundreds of seabirds already gathering behind.
“Being at sea is an extraordinary experience, there are many tales about being at sea, but nobody knows until they have a first-hand experience. I have been to sea before several times on research vessels...But this was my first time working on a commercial fishing vessel. Here, it’s all about getting the job done, harvesting it is “man at work”. I was the only female on board. A crew of 26 including my colleague Titus Shaanika who was showing me the ropes of being an ATF instructor. We boarded the vessel on a Sunday evening 11-07-2021, and were welcome by individual crew members as we climbed on board. Titus introduced me to the captain and officers, he is well known for his work on this fishing vessel, this was his 3rd trip with F/V Harvest Nicola. The captain gave me seasickness medications and immune boosters. As the ship sailed, a mayday drill was called for all of us on board at the muster station. Having completed sea safety training two weeks ago, I understood the value of drills.
Ndamona recording data (seabird bycatch, mitigation data and safety measures)
“The next day, as the fishermen deployed their fishing gear, Titus explained what to do, how to record seabird bycatch and mitigation data and the safety measures. “Let’s identify birds”, He said. There were plenty of birds! Even though I had participated in coastal birds count before and I knew the characteristics of them, these were different birds. I looked out and all I saw was loads of black and white birds. Though I had a guidebook it was still challenging for me, my colleague described the birds one by one, pointing out their unique characteristics and life history, it was incredibly helpful. My favourite bird was the shy albatross. It is so graceful as if it puts some effort into how its look before setting off for foraging. As the 1st hauling started, I was familiar with what to do, but it was, nevertheless, a lot to take in. During the 4th haul of the day, there appeared lots of small birds, "oh! I think we're going to have bad weather soon”, Titus said. “You see those small birds, they are called Wilson’s storm petrels they often appear when it’s about to get rough”, we then headed to the mess room for data entry, before we headed to bed around 21;00 as we started feeling the effect of rough seas.
Shy albatrosses gathering around the fishing vessel
“Titus was right. We had bad weather for 3 consecutive days (12th-14th, 07.2021). Limited work was done as it was too risky. On every vessel, safety always comes first. It was difficult for anyone to stay on their feet and work as the vessel rocked and rolled. The food was great, but the biliousness negatively affected my appetite. The immune boosters and seasick pills were indispensable, but homesickness set in quickly. The bad weather eventually ended, and we could resume our ATF responsibilities.
“On day 5 (15-07-2021), mini rainbows where forming over splashes from the vessels wake, it was a beautiful sight, we tried to capture them as Titus showed me a few tricks of photographing birds. He emphasized the importance of taking quality pictures as it helps with record-keeping and reporting. On day six (16-07-2021), the routine was standard and the work went smoothly. The pleasant weather, meant staying up on the stern for much longer familiarising myself with the birds, sun basking and enjoying the fresh air. Something you get to appreciate more on a relatively small fishing vessel as the hallways below deck are concentrated with a strong smell of fish and kitchen steams, a smell that takes some time to get used to…
“The crew often enjoy free time on the front deck between sets. We take advantage of this and talk to them about Tori lines and ATF work. Talking to them is always informative and hilarious, I learned a lot from them besides seabird bycatch. On Monday morning 19-07-2021, we were all excited to be headed home after a good drag. We reached Walvis Bay at 21H00 after sailing for 8-hours from the fishing grounds just west of Walvis Bay.
Having had such an enriching experience, I am glad to be ready to undertake my many solo seabird bycatch mitigation missions.
Ndamona and Titus recording data
Make sure to follow #AlbatrossTaskForce on Facebook, Twitter and #AlbatrossStories Instagram If you want to support the work of the Albatross Task Force you can become a friend of the albatross, helping projects such as educating fishers on the importance of bird scaring lines which deter Sitka and many others from the dangers of fish hooks.