Argentina to stop albatross deaths
Argentina to stop albatross deaths
Posted on: 14 Sep 2014
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A major trawl fishery in Argentina has agreed to start using devices to scare birds away from long-line fishing equipment.
The widely-used equipment has been causing the accidental deaths of thousands of individuals of species such as the globally Near-Threatened Black-browed Albatross. This is great news for seabirds and the Albatross Task Force, who have successfully proven that bird-scaring lines would almost eliminate seabird mortality in the fishery.
The formal decision will positively affect the fate of thousands of albatrosses every year, and was announced by the Argentinean delegates at an international meeting of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels (ACAP) in Uruguay. The resolution received unanimous approval by the Federal Fisheries Council, so over the next six months fishermen on the industrial vessels of the Argentinean factory trawl fleet will be casting bird-scaring lines as well as fishing nets off the back of their boats. If needed, they will refine the bird-scaring line designs to minimise any operational concerns for the crew before the measures become obligatory in the fishery.
The status of the world’s seabirds has deteriorated rapidly over recent decades, and several species and many populations are now threatened with extinction. Seabirds are now more threatened than any other group of birds. Of the 346 seabird species, 97 (28 per cent) are globally threatened and nearly half of all seabird species are known or suspected to be experiencing population declines. The albatross family is especially imperilled, with 15 of the 22 species currently threatened with extinction. One of the main factors that contributes to declining seabird populations is by-catch in long-line and trawl fisheries.
More:
http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__15626
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