During Spring on the oceanic islands, albatrosses are being born! The same is happening with the Albatross Task Force! New members are joining in order to maintain the oceanic species diversity.
In December several candidates applied for two positions at ATF-Brazil. We had 75 applications and we did a pre-selection choosing 16 candidates and in the last selection we chose five candidates for these positions. Among the selection criteria, we looked for people that already had some experience at high seas.
We formed an examining board in order to interview the future Task Force members and for the five selected candidates we had an individual interview. The board was coordinated by Tatiana Neves (General Coordinator of Projeto Albatroz), Patrícia Mancini (Itajaí Coordinator), Fabiano Peppes (ATF-Brazil Coordinator) and our good international friend Meidad Goren from the ATF-South Africa. It was amazing having Meidad with us, helping us to select the new members for our incredible team!
Ricardo Hoinkis and Caio Azevedo Marques were chosen to work with the ATF-Brazil. Currently in Brazil we have three ATF members: Fabiano (Santos Harbour), Ricardo (Itajaí Harbour) and Caio (Itaipava Base). Together, we are covering the most important area for the albatrosses in southern Brazil. We are really a Task Force operating on the high seas! We are very proud of this!
We all are aware of the great challenge we have in hand, but we are not alone in this huge ocean, all the different ATF teams must unite our efforts to save the seabirds on their migratory routes.
After the Itajai selection, I returned to Santos. In December, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, it is a very important period for the ATF-Brazil because it is the only time of the year that we can find all the skippers from several longline vessels together.
It is much easier to talk with them and share experiences and histories about the year spent on the high seas. Indeed, it is very rewarding to listen to the fishermen talk about the torilines and blue dye baits. And the skippers that still don't have such technology are already listening on the radio at sea about these things, and they started to talk with other skippers that already are using them. Some of them are asking us about how to acquire such gear!
In this way, we were able to introduce in January a new pair of tori lines in another vessel called Quebra Mar I, skippered by Dinho. Now they will be able to fish without harming the seabirds. Dinho has been visiting our headquarters since August 2007, asking us to install a tori line in his vessel. He loves and understands the importance of the seabirds.
I've been pretty close to him all the time when his vessel arrives or departs for the sea. We established a good relationship and trust and we could deploy other mitigation measures, because he was already using the blue dye bait.
However, the shipping owner of Quebra Mar I was very reluctant for a while until he understood that the tori line is not only good for seabirds, but also it is good for the fishery itself, increasing the fishery production. Therefore, after several conversations, he allowed us to install the tori line in his vessel. There is no doubt this was a great victory for everyone, shipping company, skipper, ATF, and mainly for the albatrosses that can fly more safely on the ocean.
I feel much rewarded by the work I've been accomplishing and I do with all my heart. This feeling is the main tool that I have to show the fishermen about the value of the albatrosses and the marine life as a whole. It is a great privilege to have in our planet these wonderful birds flying at sea. And we are doing everything that we can to keep them flying in this way forever.