My last trip at sea lasted 15 days and was aboard a vessel dedicated to fishing for swordfish; it was also one of the vessels that we chosen to test a tori line. This is for the experimental work that ATF Uruguay is carrying out this year.
We set ten lines, five with and five without the tori line. Despite a couple of minor glitches, the tori lines worked well and performed their function of scaring seabirds beautifully. Without doubt, getting the crew used to using these tori lines is a bit of a challenge, as it means they have to do something different in their daily routine.
However, it was a great pleasure to work with them, finding the most comfortable way to incorporate the task into their day and trying to ensure that it would be as little effort as possible for them.
Watching with the crew, we found the predictable results that show the hooks set under the protection of a tori line caught no birds whilst the sets without a tori line ended with seabird mortality. It is an important step, introducing a tori line to a new vessel has to be done carefully and under supervision.
The ship’s captain slightly modified his operational movements whilst setting the line to help using the tori line, small measures to maximise the efficiency of the procedure. It was rewarding to watch as he noted how the seabirds stayed away from the hook line and baits.
During the trip we had good catches of the target species, again confirming what we have been saying all along, that the tori line not only avoids seabird bycatch but also the removal of baits from the hooks, which may imply a better fish catch.
We believe that it is good to show this to fishing captains, as they are the ones who take decisions onboard. If they are aware of the issue, they can take actions to avoid seabird bycatch and at the same time potentially improve their fish catch.
Martin.