For the first time in history of New Zealand a series of national workshops were held to promote seabird-smart fishing practices have been held in Auckland and Timaru. The workshops are organised by Southern Seabird Solutions and hosted by fishing companies to educate inshore commercial fishers about the issue of fishing-related seabird injuries or death.
Janice Molloy, Convener, Southern Seabird Solutions, said that seabirds have learned to forage for food at the back of trawl and longline fishing vessels, which places them at risk of being caught on hooks or tangled in trawl gear. She also said that this is serious issue and fishing industry is working to find new solution and these workshops are the next step in that work.
She told that these workshops will motivate fishers to share their own knowledge about what proven or new methods they use to keep seabirds away from fishing vessels, and inspire them to make further changes on their boats. At least six seabird-smart fishing workshops will be held around the country this year, with the first two held in Auckland and Timaru this month.
Fishing company Sanford Ltd hosted the Auckland workshop, which was attended by about 25 skippers and crew contracted to Sanford, and Talley’s Group Ltd hosted the workshop in Timaru. Sanford spokesperson said that they want to build the public’s confidence that the fishing industry is acting responsibly towards seabirds.
