Arriving at night to the trawl fishing vessel, Bonn, I took began my first sea trip with ATF - Chile. The next day amongst the unforgettable roll of the sea, I immediately set to work as the fishing operation started, as demands our role as ATF Instructors. As I began I reflected that this work goes beyond the normal routine of a normal job. Like our friends the albatrosses and petrels, we head out to sea to face the challenge that lies ahead.
It is typically when we are at-sea that new questions emerge about how to improve our protocols, and reflect on the workings of the fishing operation. Also we mentally sketch out how to conduct our work to obtain the most accurate and representative results possible. On a day to day basis, we face the challenge of solving problems in the field with what we have at hand. This is not an issue to take lightly as it can be frustrating and tiring when things break at sea, and if it goes wrong ina big way it can be at the expense of the entire trip.
However, once you get going and you breathe in and feel the contact with the marine environment, your reflections and fears about your life, love or the future, come to the forefront of your mind. All of these occur through the inspiration from simply observing and watching our seabirds flying and interacting directly with the sea. I guess maybe that's how seabirds came to be in the lines of a Chilean poem by Pablo Neruda:
“...Sobre el agua, en el aire,
el ave innumerable va volando,
la embarcación es una,
la nave transparente construye la unidad con tantas alas,
con tantos ojos hacia el mar abiertos
que es una sola paz la que atraviesa
y sólo un ala inmensa se desplaza.
Ave del mar, espuma migratoria,
ala del Sur, del Norte, ala de ola,
racimo desplegado por el vuelo,
multiplicado corazón hambriento,
llegarás, ave grande, a desgranar
el collar de los huevos delicados
que empolla el viento y nutren las arenas
hasta que un nuevo vuelo multiplica
otra vez vida, muerte, desarrollo,
gritos mojados, caluroso estiércol,
y otra vez a nacer, a partir, lejos
del páramo y hacia otro páramo.”
Extract from "Migración", Pablo Neruda
Definitely friends, seabirds are works of art and letters written on the sea. This is why, when we are amongst these noble friends, we are never found without cause for reflection. By experiencing the magnificence of nature we can see that there is no need to be alarmed by the sometimes distressing dependence of our culture on technology.
Thanks to the birds we are able to forget the trivial problems of why we forgot to bring the correct plug with us for our computer, or the fact that a pencil or tape recorder fails just as we begin data collection or, as is happening to me now, seasickness tales us as we sit in our cabin.
The important thing is that the vulnerable species manage to survive in their watery habitat, and it is imperative that we help them. Therefore, even though my sickness grows and I have many doubts and concerns about how this trip will work out, I want to express through these lines that I am very happy and grateful to be part of this team.
This above all, because I have the conviction that the Albatross Task Force is, and will always be, working with determination to assist the survival of these great sources of inspiration.I confess that after this exercise and my first day at sea, doubts and concerns fell far from my head, all at least apart from the seasickness.