Very recently, Argentina announced the adoption of its National Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds (NPOA-Seabirds) which was approved by the Federal Fisheries Council (Resolution 03/2010). The NPOA is framed within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidentral Catch of Seabirds In Longline Fisheries and follows the objectives of the Agreement.
The drafting of the NPOA-Seabirds was possible thanks to a number of actions led by the Federal Fisheries Council since 2001, and by a technical document elaborated by researchers at national universities (National University of Mar del Plata and National University of Southern Patagonia) and the National Research Council (CONICET), as well as with inputs from a number of workshops conducted with the participation of researchers, government and NGOs.
Black-browed Albatross in the South West Atlantic. Photograph by Juan Pablo Seco Pon.
Click here for a full version of the Resolution by the Federal Fisheries Council.
Juan Pablo Seco Pon, ACAP South American News Correspondent, 28 April 2010