Cautious optimism: The Albatross Task Force releases its 2021/22 Annual Report

An Amsterdam Albatross off Amsterdam Island; photograph by Kirk Zufelt.

The Albatross Task Force, an international team of scientific experts led by BirdLife International and the RSPB, has released its 2021/22 Annual Report on its work with fisheries to reduce seabird bycatch.

Albatross Task Force teams engage with fisheries in Argentina, Chile, Namibia and South Africa to encourage the uptake and proper implementation of ACAP’s Best Practice mitigation measures. More recently, in response to consumers increased interest in sustainable fishing, the Albatross Task Force have been utilising certification schemes such as that run by the Marine Stewardship Council, and direct engagement with retailers, to drive the adoption of mitigation measures by fisheries. 

On the release of the report, BirdLife International’s Bycatch Programme Manager, Rory Crawford stated, “…this has very much been the year the ATF went electronic, working on a number of projects to see how effective camera monitoring of our target fisheries might be in supporting seabird bycatch reductions – with some amazing results!

We’ve continued to build capacity to take action on preventing seabird bycatch in all parts of the fisheries management ecosystem – from crews to captains and fisheries observers to inspectors. Hundreds of key industry stakeholders have been empowered with seabird bycatch knowledge, and many teams have developed resources that institutions can use to deliver their own seabird bycatch training.

These are the vital foundations of making all theTaskForce’s efforts through the years sustainable – ensuring that keeping albatrosses off hooks and out of nets becomes a little part of everybody's job."

The full report is available to read here.

For regular updates on The Albatross Task Force follow @AlbyTaskForce on Twitter, @albatross_stories on Instagram, and read monthly updates on the ATF blog. 

Posted 22 August 2022