Abstract: Procellariiform Tracking Workshop
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MAPPING FEEDING AREAS OF THREATENED SEABIRDS AT RISK FROM LONGLINE FISHING: A FISHERIES MANAGEMENT TOOL?
Abstract presented at the 4th World Fisheries Congress held in
Victoria, BC, Canada (May 2004), under the auspices of the
Procellariiform Tracking Workshop and Birdlife International (http://www.birdlife.net/)
John P. Croxall 1, Frances E. Taylor 2, Deon C. Nel 2, & K. David Hyrenbach 3
1 British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England UK, j.croxall@bas.ac.uk
2 BirdLife International Seabird Conservation Programme, PO Box 1586, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa, nfo@birdlife.org.za
3 Duke University Marine Laboratory, 135 Duke Marine Laboratory Rd., Beaufort, NC, United States, khyrenba@duke.edu
More than 22 species of globally threatened seabirds, mainly albatrosses, are killed in large numbers in longline fishing operations. Increasingly, fisheries are coming under legislative and economic pressure to reduce unsustainable levels of seabird mortality. Currently, several North Pacific and Antarctic fisheries operate under the threat of temporary closures if the precautionary Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of threatened seabirds is exceeded. As the conservation status of many seabirds continues to deteriorate, fishing ground closures linked to highly precautionary TACs could become a more widespread management method. Fortunately, seabird bycatch can be greatly reduced through the use of cost-effective mitigation measures. Yet, bycatch rates differ greatly between areas and fisheries management zones. Knowledge of the areas utilised most intensively by those species threatened and/or potentially at risk could thus greatly help reduce seabird bycatch, and consequently the risk of fishing closures. With this in mind, BirdLife International is leading a programme to identify important feeding areas by integrating spatial data on seabird distributions. Although scientists have been tracking seabirds since 1990, these studies have been largely restricted in taxonomic and geographic scope. BirdLife International, in conjunction with researchers around the world, is compiling a central database of seabird distribution data to identify the most important foraging areas for threatened species at regional and global scales. Here we describe the results of a pilot study focusing on several albatross species for which we have good knowledge of key foraging areas and environments. We compare these seabird distributions with fisheries effort data and with the jurisdictions of RFMOs, to illustrate how this integrated perspective could be used to guide bycatch mitigation. These improved fishing practices should lead to the sustainable co-existence of seabirds and fishers and to better-managed and more profitable fisheries.
John P. Croxall 1, Frances E. Taylor 2, Deon C. Nel 2, & K. David Hyrenbach 3
1 British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, England UK, j.croxall@bas.ac.uk
2 BirdLife International Seabird Conservation Programme, PO Box 1586, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa, nfo@birdlife.org.za
3 Duke University Marine Laboratory, 135 Duke Marine Laboratory Rd., Beaufort, NC, United States, khyrenba@duke.edu
More than 22 species of globally threatened seabirds, mainly albatrosses, are killed in large numbers in longline fishing operations. Increasingly, fisheries are coming under legislative and economic pressure to reduce unsustainable levels of seabird mortality. Currently, several North Pacific and Antarctic fisheries operate under the threat of temporary closures if the precautionary Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of threatened seabirds is exceeded. As the conservation status of many seabirds continues to deteriorate, fishing ground closures linked to highly precautionary TACs could become a more widespread management method. Fortunately, seabird bycatch can be greatly reduced through the use of cost-effective mitigation measures. Yet, bycatch rates differ greatly between areas and fisheries management zones. Knowledge of the areas utilised most intensively by those species threatened and/or potentially at risk could thus greatly help reduce seabird bycatch, and consequently the risk of fishing closures. With this in mind, BirdLife International is leading a programme to identify important feeding areas by integrating spatial data on seabird distributions. Although scientists have been tracking seabirds since 1990, these studies have been largely restricted in taxonomic and geographic scope. BirdLife International, in conjunction with researchers around the world, is compiling a central database of seabird distribution data to identify the most important foraging areas for threatened species at regional and global scales. Here we describe the results of a pilot study focusing on several albatross species for which we have good knowledge of key foraging areas and environments. We compare these seabird distributions with fisheries effort data and with the jurisdictions of RFMOs, to illustrate how this integrated perspective could be used to guide bycatch mitigation. These improved fishing practices should lead to the sustainable co-existence of seabirds and fishers and to better-managed and more profitable fisheries.
European Seabirds at Sea published
