The emerging knowledge of seabird bycatch in fisheries is exemplified in the context of purse seine fisheries, targeting forage fish in the coastal waters of at least eight countries, and interacting with some 33 species of seabirds.

In 2013 the Albatross Task Force - Chile (ATF – CODEFF [Comité Pro Defensa de la Fauna y Flora]) started characterising seabird bycatch in the domestic small-scale purse seine fleet and developing novel mitigation measures such as the Modified Purse Seine (MPS) to reduce seabird entanglements (click here).  Supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), field experiments comparing real-time sets with MPS and unmodified control nets showed a 98% reduction in entanglements.

Pink-footed Shearwater, photograph courtesy of Oikonos
 

Noting that seabird bycatch in purse seine fisheries includes ACAP-listed species, such as the globally Vulnerable Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus, MPS compliance was discussed at the most recent meeting of ACAP’s Seabird Bycatch Working Group (SBWG8).

Since 2015 Premios Latinoamérica Verde has made awards to the best 500 environmental projects in Latin America within the categories of Oceans, Energy, Forests & Flora, Sustainable Cities, Waste Management, and Human Development, Inclusion and Equality.  Last year some 2400 projects from 36 countries were assessed. Currently, the 2733 projects nominated for 2018 from 38 countries are being evaluated and the top 500 have been selected by a committee of 150 experts from 20 countries and include contestants from Latin America, Canada, Spain and the USA.

The MPS under the title “Pescadores Innovando En Medidas De Mitigación De Captura Incidental De Aves Marinas” has been selected and ranked 11th in the Oceans (Océanos) Category (and 313th overall) as a contribution that addresses fisheries bycatch.  This is an important recognition of the collaborative work conducted amongst fishers, fishing gear manufacturers and seabird scientists.  The awards ceremony will be held in Guayaquil, Ecuador on 14 August, giving an excellent opportunity for the issue of seabird bycatch and mitigation measures to be included in a continent-wide agenda for environmental solutions.

Read more (in Spanish) here.

Cristián Suazo, Albatross Task Force - Chile, 02 July 2018

Yves Cherel (Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, Villiers-en-Bois, France) and colleagues have published in the journal Environmental Pollution on mercury levels in feathers from 20 albatross species.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Albatrosses (Diomedeidae) are iconic pelagic seabirds whose life-history traits (longevity, high trophic position) put them at risk of high levels of exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), a powerful neurotoxin that threatens humans and wildlife. Here, we report total Hg (THg) concentrations in body feathers from 516 individual albatrosses from 35 populations, including all 20 taxa breeding in the Southern Ocean. Our key finding is that albatrosses constitute the family of birds with the highest levels of contamination by Hg, with mean feather THg concentrations in different populations ranging from moderate (3.8 μg/g) to exceptionally high (34.6 μg/g). Phylogeny had a significant effect on feather THg concentrations, with the mean decreasing in the order Diomedea > Phoebetria > Thalassarche. Unexpectedly, moulting habitats (reflected in feather δ¹³C values) was the main driver of feather THg concentrations, indicating increasing MeHg exposure with decreasing latitude, from Antarctic to subtropical waters. The role of moulting habitat suggests that the majority of MeHg eliminated into feathers by albatrosses is from recent food intake (income strategy). They thus differ from species that depurate MeHg into feathers that has been accumulated in internal tissues between two successive moults (capital strategy). Since albatrosses are amongst the most threatened families of birds, it is noteworthy that two albatrosses listed as Critical by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) that moult and breed in temperate waters are the most Hg-contaminated species (the Amsterdam and Tristan albatrosses). These data emphasize the urgent need for robust assessment of the impact of Hg contamination on the biology of albatrosses and they document the high MeHg level exposure of wildlife living in the most remote marine areas on Earth.”

A female Tristan Albatross incubates on Gough Island, photograph by John Cooper

Reference:

Cherel Y., Barbraud, C., Lahournat, M., Jaeger, A., Jaquemet, S., Wanless, R.M., Phillips, R.A., Thompson, D.R. & Bustamante, P. 2018.  Accumulate or eliminate? Seasonal mercury dynamics in albatrosses, the most contaminated family of birds.  Environmental Pollution 241: 124-135.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 29 June 2018

Jenn Lavers (Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia) and colleagues report on plastics ingested by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica on Lord Howe Island in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Annual rates of plastic production have been increasing rapidly since the 1950s. Inadequate or improper disposal of plastic products has contributed to a significant increase in plastic debris in the world's oceans and a corresponding increase in the number of species negatively affected by this debris. Here we investigate trends in the type, amount, and colour of ingested plastic over time, and determine whether ingested plastic contributes to reduced health of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia. The results show no clear influence of ingested plastic on body condition, while trends in the prevalence, number, and mass of plastic items ingested per bird during 2005 and 2013–2018 were more variable. There was some evidence adult birds are selecting plastic by colour. Future monitoring of this pan-tropical seabird would provide a unique opportunity to gather data from multiple sites, concurrently.”

Wedge-tailed Shearwaters

Reference:

Lavers, J.L., Ian Hutton, I & Bond, A.L. 2018.  Ingestion of marine debris by Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) on Lord Howe Island, Australia during 2005–2018.  Marine Pollution Bulletin 133: 616-621.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 28 June 2018

José Granadeiro (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Lisbon, Portugal.) and colleagues have published in the journal Bird Conservation International on Black-browed Albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris bathing at sea near to their colonies.

The paper’s abstract follows:

“Tracking studies of seabirds have generally focused in identifying areas used for foraging, in the hope of highlighting regions of energy transfer which may be important for seabird and general ecosystem conservation and special management. However, some sea areas may serve functions other than providing nutritional resources, which may be equally relevant, particularly if used by large numbers of individuals. In this paper, based on a study of 4 breeding colonies in the Falkland Islands and on 314 individuals tracked, we show that virtually all (97.8%) black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris (BBA) bathe in the close vicinity of the colony, remaining in the area for nearly an hour, before departing on a foraging trip. This compares with only 20 to 40% of the individuals landing close to the colony at the end of a foraging trip. The observed utilization of marine areas by BBA in a radius of 1 to 5 km around the nesting colony is one order of magnitude higher than elsewhere, including foraging hotspots. Clearly, even long-range flying birds such as albatrosses can make an intensive use of the sea-surface in the immediate vicinity of the colonies, and therefore any threats to seabirds in these areas (disturbance, pollutants, collision with artificial structures and light attraction) can potentially have a major impact at the population level. As such, the close neighbourhood of seabird colonies are potentially highly sensitive areas, and this needs to be taken into account when carrying out risk assessments or during marine spatial planning exercises.”

Blcak-browed Albatross on the sea surface, photograph by Kollette Grobler

Reference:

Granadeiro, J.P., Campioni, L. & Catry, P. 2018.  Albatrosses bathe before departing on a foraging trip: implications for risk assessments and marine spatial planning. Bird Conservation International 28: 208-215.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 27 June 2018