I've been at sea for 20 days. I have so much news to tell!
We left Santos on June 6 and sailed to the Brazilian south coast. The sea conditions were so calm they permitted me to contemplate the beautiful days and sunsets during two days of sailing it took until we reached the fishing area.
The longline vessels here in Brazil usually set the fishing gear around 6 pm and finish at 11 pm, when they set around 1,200 baited hooks. During the settings we have a good opportunity to tell the fishermen the importance of the seabirds, because they work in turns during this time.
I had the chance to explain to them the decline of the seabird population, the conservation status and the seabirds' origin. To show the importance of the seabirds is crucial, because they are the people that have the most frequent contact with these seabirds. The solution for seabird bycatch is in their hands!
In the mornings after the settings, we wake up at 5.30 am to look for the longlines that we settled the other night. We started to haul all the hooks. An enormous variety of marine animals are captured, among sharks, swordfishes and tuna fish that have a high commercial value in Brazil. Besides these fishes, there are some captured that have no commercial value, including seabirds and sea turtles.
Here in Brazil, a fishing cruise sets between 14 to 16 times per fishing trip, and the trip lasts between 20 to 25 days, depending on which fishing area the skipper chose.
From the second set, the skipper agreed to test the tori line (or streamer line, if you prefer) to evaluate how this gear would be adapted to this vessel. He tested the tori line in many settings but one day, in a very turbulent sea conditions, he decided to not use the tori lines. Unfortunately in this day, we captured one black-browed albatross.
After several settings using the tori lines, he felt very motivated because the tori line efficiency was clear, for both reducing seabird bycatch and improving the fishing capacity.
I reinforced the technical information, telling him that for each seabird captured, they lost around 20 baits. This means that by using the tori lines he can fish better.
After he had captured the seabird, the skipper started to use the tori line on all the other days until the end of the fishing cruise.
What I really love in my work is that, through these simple information, these simple people start to admire the seabirds that fly from such far away places such as South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha and Falklands.