Back in July, we set sail from the port of Coquimbo in Chile with the challenge of studying mitigation measure design and the associated reduction of seabird bycatch. Historically, bycatch has been particularly high on the vessel that I have now joined for the next three months. This has been due, we suspect, to a more automated fishing operation on this large vessel, capable of spending large amounts of time at sea and setting huge numbers of hooks. The vessel is 56m long and can stay at-sea for up to three months!
Personally, this trip is a return to sea for me. After a couple of years away from the ocean waves after I worked on the first evaluation of seabird interactions with the deep sea toothfish fleet in the extreme south of Chile, I’m back. Now I am heading out again as an ATF instructor in the pelagic longline fleet, with more experience as a marine biologist and extra interest in the ecology and biology of seabirds.
Getting back to the current trip, I have already spent 57 days onboard. So far, we have been able to carry out all of the objectives we hoped to achieve. We have been testing two different tori line designs for this fleet, to see which one best protects the sinking hooks from seabirds as we set the fishing gear. By comparing the number of bird attacks we can understand what features of the different designs help dissuade the seabirds from taking baited hooks.
However, one of my preferred tasks onboard is the frequent count of seabirds around the vessel. This helps us understand the assemblage of seabird species that interact with the fishing vessels, principally attracted by the bait and discarded offal. In the Humboldt Current there are many interesting seabirds that are not found anywhere else, so it is a privilege to see them so often!