'Petrel discoverer' Hadoram Shirihai - RSPB

Oli Yates (ATF Co-ordinator)
EMERGING MITIGATION
Trial success for hook pods
As reported in last year’s Sea Change,
the Global Seabird Programme
(GSP) is working with Fishtek
(www.fishtekmarine.com) to develop
a ‘hook pod’ (formerly called the ‘bait
pod’) for pelagic longline fisheries. Hook
pods prevent seabirds from accessing
baits before a pressure-sensitive valve
operates at a pre-determined depth to
release baited hooks. They are attached
to the branch-line and encapsulate the
point and barb of the hooks. When the
pods reach a pre-determined depth,
they release and the hooks fall free
of the pods and sink to the desired
fishing depth.
In December 2009, Ben Sullivan (GSP
Co-ordinator) and Oli Yates (Albatross
Task Force Co-ordinator) conducted
at-sea trials onboard the FV Strike
Force in an eastern Australian tuna
fishery under permits issued by the
Australian Fisheries Management
Authority. The key objective of the
trials was to test the effectiveness
A baited hook with hook
pod during line setting
Hook pods neatly stored
in the setting bins
Oli Yates (ATF Co-ordinator)
of the most recent prototype. We
trialled a range of bait types, including
large and small mackerel, squid and
live bait, in a range of hooking
positions. We also investigated several
techniques for storing the pods in
the setting bin to create an efficient
setting and hauling operation. The
pod proved straightforward to apply
for all bait types and hooking positions
and the crew found it simple to set,
retrieve and store.
The new prototype pod has 60 g of
lead incorporated into the housing,
so that for the first 10 m (or until the
pressure release valve is operated)
the baited hook has 60 g on the hook.
In the trials, the baited hook inside
the pod sank at twice the speed of
standard fishing gear. This means
that not only is the barb and point
of the hook covered by the pod, but
that the baited hook sinks close to the
stern of the vessel at a rate that makes
it difficult for most birds to access.
The results of the trials were very
encouraging and we are hopeful that
with some fine-tuning we will have
a near-final prototype for testing headto-head
against seabirds in mid 2010.
For further details, please contact
ben.sullivan@rspb.org.uk