[Birdbycatch] Fwd: [SEABIRD] News release on Hawaii longline/seabird study

[Liz Mitchell]

>From: "John Cooper" <jcooper@botzoo.uct.ac.za>
>Organization: University of Cape Town
>To: seabird@groa.uct.ac.za
>Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 11:01:18 +0200
>Subject: [SEABIRD] News release on Hawaii longline/seabird study
>X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.54)
>Sender: owner-seabird@groa.uct.ac.za
>
>New Technology Minimizes Seabird Deaths In Hawaii Longline Fishery
>
>From: National Audubon Society Wednesday, March 20, 2002
>
>HONOLULU, HAWAII
>
>Today, the National Audubon Society announced that new device which
>keeps fish bait and hooks out of sight of birds will greatly help
>avoid seabird mortality in the Hawaii tuna longline fishery. The
>equipment, called an underwater chute, enables longline fishing
>vessels to catch tuna and swordfish without killing the thousands of
>albatross that get caught on baited hooks and drown each year.
>
>First developed in 1995, the underwater setting chute releases
>baited hooks underwater, out of sight and reach of these diving
>seabirds. It has been tested in New Zealand, and is currently
>undergoing trials in Australia's tuna longline fisheries. Trials were
>completed off the coast of Hawaii last week.
>
>"Preliminary analysis of the research data indicates the chute was
>significantly more effective at avoiding seabird deaths when compared
>to a control of setting under normal tuna fishing practices," said
>Eric Gilman, project manager for the trial of the chute and Pacific
>representative for Audubon's Living Oceans Program.
>
>Of the man-made and natural threats to seabirds, one of the most
>critical global problems is incidental mortality in longline
>fisheries. Birds most at risk from death in Hawaii's and other North
>Pacific longline fisheries are petrels and albatross, including  the
>Short-tailed, Black-Footed and Laysan albatrosses. The birds get
>hooked or entangled when gear is being set and are dragged underwater
>and drown as the fishing gear sinks.
>
>The results of last week's trial indicate when setting under control
>conditions without the underwater setting chute, seabirds contacted
>6.5% of baited hooks set, resulting in the mortality of 24 seabirds.
>When setting with the chute, seabirds contacted 0.2% of baited
>hooks set, and no birds were caught or killed. "This project
>demonstrates that collaboration between an environmental NGO, fishing
>industry, and government management authority is effective and should
>serve as a model for future efforts," continued Audubon's Gilman.
>
>According to Jim Cook, owner of the fishing vessel Katy Mary and
>representative of the Hawaii Longline Association, "the data indicate
>that the chute is effective at avoiding seabird interactions with
>longline gear in the Hawaii fleet. And, equally important, the
>  longline industry is likely to support use of the chute, as it
>promises to save fishers money by reducing bait loss, and does not
>require significant alteration of normal fishing practices."
>
>Project partners include the National Audubon Society, Hawaii
>Longline Association; US National Marine Fisheries Service; Albi
>Save, an Australian-based company that manufactures the chute; and
>the captain and crew of the Katy Mary, a Hawaii longline  fishing
>vessel. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and
>Wildlife Service, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, and
>National Audubon Society's Living Oceans Program provided financial
>support.
>
>"Based on a preliminary review of the data, the chute promses to
>resolve seabird bycatch problems in the Hawaii tuna fishery, and if
>the Hawaii swordfish fishery (closed in 1999 due to concerns over sea
>turtle mortality) resolves their turtle bycatch problem and is
>allowed to resume, the chute will likely be effective at avoiding
>seabirds in this fishery as well." Continued Gilman. "Management
>authorities need to provide incentives for industry to continue
>commercial demonstrations of the chute to augment stakeholder
>ownership for its industry-wide use. Managers also need to conduct a
>directed experiment to test the effectiveness of currently required
>seabird deterrent measures, which were observed to be
>ineffective during the chute experiment."
>
>Gilman will work with Dr. Chris Boggs of the National Marine
>Fisheries Service, Nigel Brothers, an Australian biologist who
>collected data for the at-sea trial of the chute, and captain Jerry
>Ray and crew of the Katy Mary, to write a final report for the
>experiment.
>
>Founded in 1905 and supported by 600,000 members in more than 500
>chapters throughout the Americas, the National Audubon Society
>conserves and restores natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and
>other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and
>the Earth's biological diversity.
>
>For more information, contact: Eric Gilman
>Pacific Representative for Audubon's Living Oceans Campaign
>National Audubon Society
>808-988-1976
>egilman@lava.net
>Web site: http://www.audubon.org
>
>
>
>
>
>___________________________________________________
>
>                          John Cooper
>
>                      Chief Research Officer
>                       Avian Demography Unit
>                 Department of Statistical Sciences
>                       University of Cape Town
>                           Rondebosch 7701
>                             South Africa
>
>                       jcooper@botzoo.uct.ac.za
>                    www.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu
>                        Phone:  +27-21-650-3426
>                        Fax:    +27-21-650-3434
>
>

Elizabeth Mitchell
P.O. Box 933
Eugene, Oregon 97440
U.S.A.
Tel: (541) 344-5503
E-mail: emitch@efn.org