I have recently done three consecutive at-sea trips in order to test mitigation measures that reduce seabird by catch, so I have a lot of stories to tell! The trips were aboard the 18 m long, wooden longliner Anarthur. The Anarthur’s skipper is called Darke, who works in collaboration with Projeto Albatroz and project Tamar (a local sea turtle conservation group). Captian Darke adopts mitigation measures like the tori line and uses circle hooks to reduce sea turtle bycatch.
On this occasion we set out at night from port Itajaí, Santa Catarina, and headed out to the south. Darke was searching for large shoals of tuna. Our trip began in turmoil, with bad sea conditions, very cold weather and rain almost every day, complicating the tasks on board. The combination of strong winds, cold air and rain, resulted in a terrible wind chill, giving the impression that your hands and nose were frozen!
Captain Darke recognises the marine conservation issues we are working on and is one of the skippers in Brazil who has an appreciation for the environment. In order to help reduce seabird bycatch he always begins setting operations at around 4 am, and deploys a tori line.
One of the most positive points during these trips was the interest of the crew in using the new tori line design. One day captain Darke asked me, in a very polite way, if it would be possible to keep our tori line on board after I leave the boat. I told him that new tori line was a gift from Projeto Albatroz, and, in addition, we would give him another replacement one! To my delight he was really happy with this.
For me this was a perfect example of the genuine interest that many fisherman have in reducing seabird bycatch, and the acceptance of this mitigation measure. This is a direct result of ATF instructors working very close with industry in ports and at sea.
During three trips on board the FV Anarthur no birds were caught during setting operatons, although we did catch birds during the haul, which were safely returned to sea.
Broken boatI was content as everything was going well on board the FV Anarthur, however, on the last trip during the last line haul before we were to return to port, the main motor simply stopped. After this the auxiliary motor, which is responsible for maintaining the water pump, also broke. Just when we thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, four of the five batteries that keep the electric lights working failed, plunging the entire vessel into darkness.So, we were stranded, without a motor to control the vessel or pump water from the bilges and in complete darkness at night. The westerly winds blew for two days, pushing us many miles out to sea.
The crew divided into two groups, taking turns to manually pump the water out of the boat. When the wind turned easterly, the crew improvised a sail and used the wind to sail the boat back toward the coast.
After seven days drifting, another vessel finally answered our distress call and came to rescue us. We were towed back to port and arrived safely after 39 days at sea.
So, that’s it my friends. I hope you enjoyed the story!!!