Ecological risk assessment of the Itaipava fleet, ES, Brazil, on albatrosses and petrels in the southwest Atlantic

Here, we performed a risk assessment of six albatross and petrel species to incidental mortality in fishing operations of the Itaipava fleet. This approach is urgently needed taking account (i) the spatial distribution of this fleet and its overlap with the distribution of endangered albatrosses and petrels, (ii) the utilization of a variety of fishing gear with the previous records of seabird bycatch, (iii) the inexistence of at-sea observation, and (iv) the lack of compliance with the current regulations obligating the use of seabird mitigation measures below 20° S. Five of the six studied species presented levels of vulnerability "intermediate-high" (>1.5) or "high" (>2) to pelagic longline and handline. This is worrying, taking into account that 600 vessels compose the Itaipava fleet and that endangered species were the most vulnerable, such as the Diomedea dabennena, D exulans, Thalassarche chlororhynchos, Procellaria conspicillata and P. aequinoctialis.