Seabird Bycatch Mitigation Factsheets / Ending Seabird Bycatch

Citation
Birdlife International (2018) Seabird Bycatch Mitigation Factsheets / Ending Seabird Bycatch. In: Birdlife International partnership for nature and people. http://www.birdlife.org/bycatch. Accessed 5 Nov 2014
Abstract

Our Albatross Task Force instructors spend months at sea working with local fishermen, testing and finding solutions to prevent the needless bycatch of seabirds on fish hooks and in fish nets.
• 15 out of 22 albatross species are threatened with extinction
• Hundreds of thousands of seabirds drown each year on fish hooks

Simple and inexpensive measures can be highly successful in mitigating seabird bycatch, especially when used in combination. In fact, some fisheries have already reduced seabird bycatch by 80% as a result of the techniques detailed in these factsheets.

BirdLife and the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels have produced a series of 15 Seabird Bycatch Mitigation Factsheets which describe the range of potential mitigation measures available to reduce seabird bycatch in longline and trawl fisheries. The factsheets assess the effectiveness of each measure, highlight their limitations and strengths, and make best practice recommendations for their effective adoption. They are designed to help decision-makers choose the most appropriate measures for their longline and trawl fisheries.

Available here in English and Portuguese. The factsheets are available in other languages at www.acap.aq/mitigation-fact-sheets