'Petrel discoverer' Hadoram Shirihai - RSPB

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TRACKING DATA Tracking ocean wanderers The Global Procellariiform Tracking Database (GPTD or Tracking Ocean Wanderers Database) is the largest single taxa-tracking database in existence. It currently holds 4,859 tracks, covering 28 species from 33 contributing individuals or institutes, and has a near global extent. Procellariiform species spend the majority of their lives in the marine environment, so this tracking data is hugely important in understanding their distribution and ecology at sea. The GPTD aims to collate all Procellariiform tracking data in a central repository that can then be used (subject to request) to inform various conservation advocacy programmes relevant to the world’s oceans. These currently include work on determining the overlap between Procellariiform distribution and fishery activities in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, defining priority sites for conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction for the Convention on Biological Diversity and using tracking data to help inform marine Important Bird Area designation. Recently, a website has been developed for the GPTD. It is aimed at increasing functionality in the database as well as increasing Screenshot of www.seabirdtracking.org Users will be able to search and view the database based on a number of search terms including species, site, breeding stage and year. Subsequent access may then be granted, subject to a request to the data owner. Phil Taylor (BirdLife) engagement with both the seabird tracking community and those carrying out research on Procellariiform species. The website’s functions include the ability to filter and standardise submitted data, providing the ‘cleaned’ data back to the contributor, thereby streamlining the submission process and helping to develop a standard format for processed data within the tracking community. The website also includes a function to view maps of tracking data, which can be searched The extent of the Global Procellariiform Tracking Database: 4,859 satellite tracks of 28 Procellariiform species. to allow coverages and extents to be readily defined. Overall the website aims to provide efficient and effective data submission, searches and requests, which will increase data contributor’s involvement with their data and streamline its subsequent uses. The GPTD is a vital resource for seabird research. The information contained within it can act as an important indicator for not only seabirds, but also for our understanding of the oceans as a whole. As it evolves and expands with the submission of more data on a wider range of species, so too will our understanding of the world’s oceans and seabirds, and the interaction between the two. For further details, please contact phil.taylor@birdlife.org (Data kindly provided by Akira Suzuki, Amanda Freeman, British Antarctic Survey, Christopher Robertson, Dave Anderson, David Hyrenbach, David Nicholls, Deon Nel, Donna Patterson, Flavio Quintana, Graham Robertson, Henri Weimerskirch, Jacob Gonzalez-Solis, Javier Arata, Jean-Claude Stahl, Jill Awkerman, Kath Walker, Mark Schultz, Michelle Hester, Michelle Kappes, Nic Huin, Nic Klomp, Paul Sagar, Peter Ryan, Rachael Alderman, Richard Cuthbert, Rob Suryan, Rosemary Gales, Ross Wanless, Samantha Petersen, Scott Shaffer, Susan Waugh and Vitor Paiva). Phil Taylor (BirdLife)
Ben Sullivan (Global Seabird Programme Co-ordinator) Tuna commissions make slow progress in tackling bycatch Since the third issue of Sea Change back in November 2007, we have seen significant, if slow, progress from the world’s five major tuna commissions in effectively tackling seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. However, it remains difficult to make firm headway in some commissions. The tuna commissions manage some of the largest and most valuable fisheries on the planet. However, these fisheries often come into conflict with seabirds. Many species of albatross and petrel suffer from a high degree of overlap with these fleets, and while this can be beneficial to the birds – as the fisheries provide an easy source of food – it can prove costly when birds become hooked and drowned behind vessels. Our work in the tuna commissions in recent years has focused on two main asks. Firstly, greater protection of seabirds through technical seabird bycatch mitigation measures. In practical terms, this means enshrining mandatory regulations on Member States to implement various best-practice measures for mitigation onboard Black-browed albatrosses following a trawler vessels, eg tori lines and line weighting. Secondly, the establishment of independent and rigorous Regional Observer Programmes (ROPs) throughout a significant proportion of the fleets operating in Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) waters. These observer programmes provide a key step in the chain of effective protection for seabirds, as without better data it is impossible to advocate the most appropriate suite of mitigation measures to individual commissions, Member States and fleets. In 2010, all five commissions have passed seabird resolutions and four have requirements for seabird bycatch mitigation measures. BirdLife International has observer status at four of the five main commissions, and provides input in the form of technical advice on high-risk areas, measures to reduce mortality and advocacy work on introducing greater protection into binding regulations on Member States as well as better observer coverage. Recent progress has proved more challenging. It has been difficult to make substantial progress in improvements to mitigation measures or Regional Observer Programmes at commission meetings with the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). However, agreement was reached at IATTC on a measure to implement seabird bycatch mitigation across the fleets, and it is hoped that it will be adopted as a binding resolution this year. Equally, agreement was reached in November 2009 at the ICCAT meeting in Brazil among the majority of participating Member States. With potential measures being adopted in these RFMOs, one of which has not previously had a binding measure for seabird bycatch mitigation, the future looks hopeful. Yet, a great deal of work remains to be done, particularly on encouraging the use of, and need for, effective ROPs. The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission already has such a programme, and the Global Seabird Programme is set to get involved with current developments at the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, which is scheduled to have a programme up and running by the end of 2010. For further details, please contact orea.anderson@rspb.org.uk Global tally on longline bycatch After a long stint of data-gathering and input from experts from around the world, the global review of seabird bycatch in longline fisheries is finally complete. Unfortunately, the statistics make for grim reading, with more than 300,000 birds killed each year. However, there is hope in a sea of bad news. Bycatch levels in some fisheries (eg Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) have reduced significantly in the last decade, with some tens of thousands fewer birds being killed each year. Progress made by the ATF in South Africa’s foreign pelagic longline fleet, documented in last year’s issue of Sea Change, has led to significant reductions in the numbers of birds killed in the waters around South Africa. ATF work has also been highly BYCATCH effective in the South African domestic trawl fisheries, so there are some positive signs of improvement. However, the review also highlights the sheer number of fisheries for which bycatch problems were previously unknown or unreported. And it is this previously unreported information that has led to current global longline bycatch estimates similar to those produced by BirdLife International several years ago. The review is intended as a useful tool in the work of the wider BirdLife International Global Seabird Programme, to highlight potential new areas for bycatch mitigation research and for targeted ATF engagement work. For further details, please contact orea.anderson@rspb.org.uk
Page 1 and 2: Welcome to the sixth issue of Sea C
Page 3 and 4: Tori lines on an Argentinean trawle
Page 5: Ben Lascelles (Marine IBA Co-ordina
Page 9 and 10: Sue Waugh (Forest & Bird, New Zeala
Page 11 and 12: Hadoram has paid tribute to the Zin

'Petrel discoverer' Hadoram Shirihai - RSPB

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