This World Fisheries Day (21 November), Oliver Yates, Head of the International Marine Programme at the RSPB explains how we’re working with fishing fleets in the high seas to tackle the serious issue of seabird bycatch.
One of the greatest joys of working in marine conservation is the experience of being at-sea, away from all the noise and bustle of terrestrial life. Out of sight, out of mind. There is a rhythm imposed by the movement of the waves and the steady progress of a vessel. There are wonderful noises created by the vessel moving through the chop, and the freshest of air when on deck. There is the much-anticipated appearance of other ocean inhabitants that coincide with the vessel, often fleetingly but marking a difference in the day.
Albatrosses under threatOne of the biggest challenges in marine conservation is achieving changes in the daily routine of people working out of sight, and out of mind. The Agreement of the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) declared a conservation crisis in 2019 because 15 of 22 albatross species are globally threatened, meaning they have a conservation status of either Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered.
The highest impact facing these birds is bycatch in fisheries. Albatrosses are particularly susceptible to longline fisheries – which target tuna, swordfish and sharks. As baited hooks are deployed to catch these species, seabirds descend to expertly swipe up a free meal and inadvertently swallow the hook. Too often these birds do not survive the interaction, and populations are declining so rapidly that adult birds cannot breed enough young to replace those that fall.
Wandering Albatrosses are just one of the many albatross species under threat from bycatch. Credit: Brydon Thomason (rspb-images.com).
Great advances in tackling bycatch in domestic fishing fleetsWe have made some great advances over the years to combat this threat. We have led a partnership of dedicated teams working directly alongside the domestic fishing fleets in their countries. Domestic fleets operate within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZs), the ocean area within 200 nautical miles from shore. In this space, countries manage access and use of their marine resources. The Albatross Task Force has reduced the bycatch of seabirds in some of the highest risk fisheries through provision of guidance and practical demonstration of simple solutions.
Solutions include the use of bird-scaring lines, night setting, line weighting and hook-shielding devices, which cover the barb of the hook to a predetermined depth below the reach of seabirds. Experiments have demonstrated consistently that the impact can be reduced by as much as 95%.
These efforts have worked because we have teamed up local seabird experts with local industry to collaborate on a solutions-based approach. Collectively, this work has contributed to ACAP’s scientific advice on Best Practice seabird bycatch mitigation measures.
Distant water fleetsOne of the most difficult questions we are asked is how we can extend the experience of our work in domestic fisheries into those fleets operating beyond the EEZs, an area which is known as the “high seas”. It is a very good question.
The fishing fleets that target fishery resources beyond their own EEZ, either on the high seas, or under agreement to fish within other nations EEZ’s, are known as distant water fleets (DWFs). Many nations have DWFs, but in the tuna longline sector Japan, Taiwan, and China are dominant.
Marine resources that straddle national jurisdictions and the high seas are managed collectively through regional management bodies, or regional fishery management organisations (RFMOs).
Managing at a regional scaleCollective management at RFMOs means multiple countries with competing interests (for fish quota) need to reach consensus to take decisions, leading to very slow progress or inaction on some of the most elementary staples of good practice. As a result, compromises abound, reducing the efficacy of measures put in place to protect resources from overexploitation or associated impacts.
Moreover, it is the flag state that is responsible for enforcing the adherence to regulations by their own fleets, so nations are marking their own homework when they report to the RFMOs. The context is important to understand the problem, which is that these fleets have an impact on the environment beyond the fish stocks that they are targeting and the process to resolve that is slow and frustrating.
Nevertheless, good progress has been made at advocating for seabird regulations at RFMOs. All five tuna RFMOs require vessels fishing in areas of overlap with albatrosses to use bycatch mitigation measures.
Fresh Yellowfin and Bigeye tuna inspected in the fishing port of Kesennuma, Japan. Credit: Oliver Yates/RSPB.
From high-level policy to working in the portsMonitoring is low in most longline fleets operating on the high seas with observers covering around ~5% of the lines deployed, compared with requirements of 100% coverage of vessels that fish for tuna with purse seine (encircling) nets.
Observers provide a critical role in good fishery management practices, as they collect environmental, operational and biological data that informs the evaluations conducted by fishery scientists onshore. Those evaluations include stock assessments of the target species, but also help move toward an eco-system based approach to fishery management that includes scrutiny of much more than “just” the fish. These processes contribute to periodic improvements in management decisions. Without observers, decisions are made on lower quality information and lead to greater uncertainty in the impact of fisheries on the environment.
Our Albatross Task Force teams are not observers, their role has been to conduct specific experimental research to help develop seabird bycatch mitigation measures that provide industry with seabird-safe options to incorporate in their daily routine.
Our small and specifically-tasked team was not intended to spend months away at sea on vessels from DWFs, as they often have undisclosed and changeable destination ports. Therefore, an approach similar to the Albatross Task Force was needed that didn’t involve sea time, so we have been conducting port-based outreach and industry liaison. It provides a means of working with the captains and crew of distant water vessels in home ports, and key ports that are adjacent to important fishing grounds.
Kesennuma Port where many distant water fleet vessels operate from in Japan. Credit: Oliver Yates/RSPB.
In Japan, Dr Yasuko Suzuki has led our engagement with the local authorities to bridge the gap between the high-level policy at the RFMOs with the fishing company representatives, vessel owners and captains. In Japan our approach is focussed on increasing the urgency of action. Japan has no lack of technical fishery experience, but there are challenges around the interpretation of Best Practice guidance, the acceptance of those measures and finding the preferred combination of seabird bycatch mitigation measures that will work for the fleet.
When returning to Japan, many distant water fleet vessels operate out of the port of Kesennuma which has been rebuilt since the terrifying impacts of the tsunami in 2011. There is a tremendous sense of community there and a pride and determination in the fishing industry that was so badly affected. While much of the fish that is caught and landed in Japan is sold within Japan, there is increasing interest in tackling seabird bycatch within the context of sustainable fisheries and the market access that delivers.
In Japan, Dr Yasuko Suzuki has led our engagement with the local authorities to bridge the gap between the high-level policy at the RFMOs with the fishing company representatives, vessel owners and captains. Credit: Oliver Yates/RSPB.
In Taiwan, a similar situation exists yet there is more recognition that some technical guidance would be helpful. The government is also more proactively promoting the move toward the adoption of seabird bycatch mitigation measures. Scott Pursner is leading our efforts in Taiwan to support the process of engagement across the spectrum, from government to vessel owners and captains to major international tuna traders. External market access is an important incentive in Taiwan and efforts are underway to strengthen the ability of companies to demonstrate uptake of conservation measures. This is particularly true for those working towards Marine Stewardship Council certification for their vessels.
Meanwhile, within China we have no port-outreach but instead are working through the Pacific port of Suva in Fiji to access Chinese vessels that utilise the infrastructure for logistics in a base far from home. James Nagan has spearheaded this work with Dr Stephanie Borrelle through vessel visits, demonstration of mitigation measures and translation of Best Practice guidance. Through an interview structure, James is gathering information on the improvements this process is leading to.
Encouragingly, the presence of solutions like bird-scaring lines on these vessels is up from around 20% in 2018 to almost 60% today following repeat visits by James. The Chinese-flagged vessels visited through the Port-Based Outreach represents more than half of the 383 Chinese vessels registered to fish in the high seas of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) convention area, so this is a major operation that we need to support and learn from.
In the Pacific port of Suva in Fiji we are working with Chinese vessels that utilise the infrastructure for logistics in a base far from home. Credit: Oliver Yates/RSPB.
Two fundamental building blocksFollowing guidance in our daily routines is not one of humanity’s greatest strengths. Our perception of the level of risk is a strong factor behind our action (will I be caught?), as is our sense of the impact our actions may have (does it matter?). We are much better at doing these things correctly where there is effective communication on the reasons behind the guidance, and the implications of failing to follow it.
These have been two fundamental building blocks of the International Marine Programme, which works in partnership with BirdLife International and a network of non-governmental organisations around the world: Providing clear evidence-based guidance and communicating it well to the audience that matters.
Helping to turn the tideIt is not an easy task to access and meaningfully engage the distant water fleets fishing in areas far from home, but the port-based outreach and industry liaison is demonstrably effective and the increased influence of seafood market forces may help turn the tide for albatrosses and petrels.
If this is to happen across the areas where fisheries overlap with vulnerable seabirds, the monitoring and reporting in these distant water fleets must improve dramatically. Building transparency requires the roll out of electronic monitoring systems on all vessels, which is now becoming a reality.
The true scale of the impact will no doubt be shocking, but ultimately will be a step toward reducing the high levels of bycatch that are currently out of sight, but in no way out of mind.
AcknowledgementsThe RSPB is dedicated to reducing the unnecessary and avoidable death of vulnerable seabirds in fishing operations, and our activities are only possible thanks to the in-country organisations that deliver so much of this work and the generous donations from our membership, loyal philanthropic supporters and international grants, including:• The David and Lucile Packard Foundation• The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation• The Planeterra Foundation• The South Georgia Heritage Trust• Friends of South Georgia Island• The Holocene Foundation
Continue reading• Celebrating 20 years of international collaborative work towards seabird conservation• Protecting seabirds from fishing hooks - testing hook-shielding devices in South Africa• On a mission to protect seabirds from bycatch in fisheries: an interview with Yasuko Suzuki
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