According to a report released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) which may offer the threatened seabirds a better chance of survival. It revealed that seabirds are at risk from fishing vessels, and also suggests some measure to reduce the risks. It is reported that some of the longliner vessels deploy fishing lines several kilometres long, which are automatically baited as they leave the vessel. Albatross and petrels, which dive after the bait, become hooked through their beaks, are pulled underwater and drown.
Samantha Petersen, manager of the WWF Responsible Fisheries Programme, told that the report improved substantially the understanding of the circumstances under which seabirds were killed. The report also contains experiments in South African waters to develop techniques to minimize seabird bycatch. Petersen added that these findings help accurately identify management measures to help reduce the killing of these magnificent birds, while not unnecessarily disrupting fishing.
According to the report there is strong need for international co-operation in preventing seabird deaths and reinforced the need for fishermen to implement the “mandatory and readily available measures” that help prevent birds from becoming entangled in fishing gear. She claimed that it was crucial that the fishing operators adopted the measures designed to reduce the death of the endangered seabirds.
The report recommends that the bird-scaring lines, which are “flown” above the fishing lines, were a simple yet effective way of preventing seabirds form being snagged during
longline fishing.
