Graham Robertson/Australian Antarctic Division A dead Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans drowned on longline Zoom In

Longlining: a major threat to the world's seabirds

01-06-2000

In 2000, the British Birdwatching Fair raised money to support BirdLife's Save the Albatross Campaign: Keeping the World's Seabirds off the Hook. In particular, the money will be used to address the seabird mortality caused by the longline fishing industry.

In 1997, the BirdLife International Seabird Conservation Programme was launched, with John Cooper as the Seabird Conservation Co-ordinator. From the outset, the issue of seabirds caught by longline fisheries was identified as a priority, and BirdLife is now a leading authority on this issue. Following several notable successes at the intergovernmental level (see World Birdwatch March 1999, p. 2; June 1999, p. 3, March 2000, p. 3), there is currently a golden opportunity for lobbying to decrease (and perhaps ultimately remove) one of the major threats to this highly threatened group of birds. But any advocacy campaign must of necessity be global as the issues of seabird conservation and fishing are very much international ones.

As the demand for fish has grown world-wide, so fishing activity has developed to meet it. Several fish stocks have collapsed as a result and some 70% of fish stocks are over-fished according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Currently, an estimated 3.5 million fishing vessels catch about 94 million tonnes of fish a year (although some 27 million tonnes are discarded as by-catch before they are even landed). The largest ocean-going fishing fleets belong to Japan, China, Russia and the USA, with Japan and China the biggest consumers of fish. Other large fish consumers include the USA, Russia and India, and notable is Japan's large per capita consumption.

After the banning of high-sea drift nets in 1993, longline fishing was seen by many as an environmentally friendly alternative and it has become one of the major methods of catching fish. Longlining is carried out world-wide and involves vessels trailing lines up to 130 km long with up to 12,000 baited hooks on them.

However, in the 1980s it became apparent that longlining was killing seabirds in significant numbers. They are caught as the baited lines are set behind the fishing vessels and scavenging birds seize the bait, get hooked, and are then pulled underwater and drown as the line sinks. More than 60 seabird species have been caught in this way, and 25 of these are currently regarded as globally threatened. There is particular concern for several albatrosses and petrel species which are in danger of extinction solely because of the longlining problem.

Data on the numbers of seabirds killed by longlining are hard to come by, particularly for some fisheries that are largely operated by 'pirate', (illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU)) vessels. However, it is estimated that one fishery alone, the Patagonian Toothfish industry in the Southern Ocean, may have killed approximately 145,000 seabirds in a single year. Clearly this level of mortality inflicted on slowly reproducing, long-lived species like albatrosses is not sustainable. In 1997, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) stated that the situation for albatrosses, giant petrels and the White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis in the Southern Ocean was unsustainable.

But solutions to the longlining problem are known and it is within our grasp to prevent the continuing needless slaughter of seabirds. Indeed some of these mitigation measures are relatively simple. Examples include the use of bird-scaring lines, setting lines at night when many seabirds are not active, the use of weighted lines that sink quickly, using thawed rather than frozen bait so that hooks sink more quickly, the use of underwater setting devices, and restricting the discard of offal that attracts birds to scavenge around fishing boats. The appropriate measures vary depending on the fishery, but the use of at least some of these measures can have a significant effect on reducing seabird by-catch. A few authorities have already made their use compulsory. There may also be an economic benefit to the fishermen - seabirds are responsible for significant loss of bait - up to 70% in one Norwegian study. Indeed, some fishermen already use bird-scaring lines voluntarily to reduce this loss.

However, although some fisheries and countries have introduced measures to minimise seabird by-catch, (including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, USA, the UK and all 23 member states of (CCAMLR)), there are particular fisheries that are causing serious concern. These top priority fisheries include the Patagonian Toothfish and Southern Bluefin Tuna fisheries in the Southern Ocean and the domestic fisheries in the waters around southern South America and southern Africa.

The Patagonian Toothfish fishery is perhaps the most serious of these as a large part of it is carried out by 'pirate', fishing vessels. It began only in 1994, as stocks of other fish diminished, but already over-fishing means that stocks of toothfish are close to collapsing. Fishing mainly takes place off the southern coast of South America and around Sub-Antarctic islands in the Southern Ocean. The main legal fishing vessels have come from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Japan, Korea, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine and the USA, but several nations are known to be engaged in IUU fishing, including Flag of Convenience States such as Panama, Honduras, Belize and Malta. The fish itself, once landed, are largely destined for Japan and the USA markets where they are sold as Chilean or Antarctic Sea Bass, Black Hake or Mero. Although CCAMLR regulates fishing within its waters (and several states regulate fishing within their respective territorial waters outside of CCAMLR zones), international waters outside CCAMLR are unregulated. The fishery kills large numbers of seabirds. CCAMLR member states are required to use a bird scaring line, line weighting, reduced discharge of fish waste and night setting, but it has no control over the huge IUU fishing that takes place. This has been estimated to be up to ten times the size of the legal fishery, and is undoubtedly responsible for the majority of seabird deaths in the fishery. Eliminating the IUU fishery, through international advocacy work and agreements, is a top conservation priority of the Save the Albatross Campaign.

The Southern Bluefin Tuna fishery in the Southern Ocean is also close to collapse because of massive over-fishing. The majority of fishing vessels is from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand and most of the tuna caught are destined for the Japanese sashimi market where they command high prices. Australia and New Zealand have joined with Japan to form the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) which regulates the fishing of these three countries. All are required to employ measures to reduce seabird by-catch, but fishing for Southern Bluefin Tuna by other countries (notably Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia) on the high seas is so far unregulated. Clearly widespread adoption of measures to reduce seabird by-catch by this fishery is urgently needed.

One species that is particularly threatened by domestic fishing off South America is the Spectacled Petrel Procellaria conspicillata (see World Birdwatch, March 1999, pp. 24-25). This species numbers a few thousand individuals, yet each year several hundred are caught by longliners. The countries fishing in these waters, particularly Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil all have regulation over the fishing activities in their territorial waters. Clearly, a campaign to encourage the governments of these nations to introduce measures to reduce seabird by-catch will have major benefits for the Spectacled Petrel and for other affected seabirds in the region.

In many other fisheries, seabird by-catch has been little studied, and very limited information is available. Further data are urgently needed. A priority case is the demersal longlining in the northern Pacific conducted by China, Japan, Korea, Russia and Taiwan that is likely to be affecting Black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and Short-tailed Albatrosses P. albatrus. It is known that demersal longlining in the north-eastern Atlantic by Norway, Iceland and the Faeroes kills large numbers of Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, yet the use of bird by-catch mitigation measures is not currently required by fishing regulations in these countries.

So the problem of seabird mortality caused by longlining and measures that can be adopted to overcome it are reasonably well-known. The challenge for BirdLife's Save the Albatross Campaign is to ensure that the mitigation measures available are widely adopted. This will be achieved through vigorous lobbying, both at the international, intergovernmental level and through BirdLife's Partners at the national level. There is widespread sympathy for the plight of albatrosses and other seabirds amongst fishermen themselves, but the fishery industry as a whole must be made aware of the problem. Readers of this magazine can play an active role. If consumers the world-over refuse to buy fish that has not been caught by albatross-friendly methods, then the fishing industry as a whole will soon respond and mend their ways. A global BirdLife Save the Albatross Campaign has the potential to build capacity and campaigning skills within the BirdLife Partnership, but above all else, if it does not succeed then we will lose magnificent birds like the Wandering Albatross forever.