I’ve recently started working with the Task Force in Chile and I am delighted to have this opportunity as I know Chilean fisheries inside out and I believe that we really need to make a big effort to reduce seabird mortality, so it is great to be part of the ATF.
I've been lucky enough to spend time at-sea on a variety of fishing vessels from the purse seine fishery in the far north of Chile to the longline fishery around the Diego Ramirez Islands in the far south.
There is another issue that I feel is important, and that is the waste disposal from fishing vessels. Unfortunately throwing plastics, fishing gear and garbage into the sea is an everyday activity in many of the Chilean fisheries, both industrial and small-scale (artisanal).
Below: Cape petrels investigate marine litter in Chile
This is a topic dealt with in the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter under the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1972).
In their desperation to consume anything that resembles food, birds often form a feeding "frenzy" where many individuals battle for the same scraps. Sometimes their haste, they gobble up potentially damaging objects. I have witnessed birds swallowing down fish with hooks still attached, fishing line, plastic and aluminium packaging, and even butter packaging and cigarette packs.
Below: A Southern Giant petrels compete for a butter wrapper
How do we counter this problem? Education is critical because the crew does not recognize the problems these birds face, and certainly don’t know their conservation status. Providing this information is the first step toward developing some level of empathy for the birds.
To improve this situation realistically we need a shift in cultural values to how waste is disposed of in fisheries. Some vessels are better than others – as discussed by my colleague Cristian in his earlier blog.
However, it is much easier for a fisherman to throw rubbish overboard instead of stowing it for disposal in port and there are no interventions by the authorities to prevent this behaviour. When fishing vessels arrive in port, there is no inspection to confirm how waste is disposed of.
A related issue is the discarding of fish heads with hooks still embedded in them from longline vessels. On board the crew will process a fish, taking the fillets and discard the head, tail, bones and guts. If there is a hook stuck in the fish head, it is a fiddle to extract it and more often than not the whole head with the hook and line still attached is thrown in the water. I think this last point is unfortunately still happening in Chilean fisheries.
Below: A Royal albatross can easily consume a large fish whole - often with hooks still lodged in the fish's mouth
Part of the work we conduct as Albatross Task Force instructors is providing the fishing community with information on the harmful effects of disposing waste at sea. Working with the fishing industry will help prevent this unfortunate situation.