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The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC; www.iotc.org) meeting in Muscat, Oman from 7-11 June 2008, has adopted a new resolution on reducing incidental catch of seabirds.

The resolution, which supersedes an earlier resolution adopted in 2006, makes it a requirement for longline vessels fishing south of 30°S to adopt a minimum of two out of six mitigation measures, one of which (the obligatory measure) must be either night setting with minimum deck lighting, use of a bird-scaring (Tori) line during setting, or use of weighted branch lines.

The resolution will apply to longline vessels of IOTC Contracting Parties and Cooperating non-Contracting Parties (CPCs).  It requires that CPCs report on seabird interactions by their flagged vessels to the Commission annually.  The IOTC’s Scientific Committee will analyse the impact of the new resolution on seabird bycatch by no later than 2011, when, if thought desirable, the resolution may be revised.

The region covered by the IOTC includes the southern Indian Ocean south to 45-55°S, where many ACAP-listed species occur, including 17 species of albatrosses, all of which are considered to be threatened or near threatened (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html).  Notably the Critically Endangered Amsterdam Albatross Diomedea amsterdamensis and the Endangered Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross Thalassarche carteri are endemic to the IOTC area and both forage almost exclusively in areas fished by IOTC longline vessels.

See also http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/06/iotc_success.html for more news of the IOTC's resolution.

Visit http://www.arkive.org/news/20080613-fishermen-help-protect-albatrosses.html for another report on the resolution with illustrations.