Global seabird bycatch in longline fisheries Sample Clauses

Global seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. Members of the Working Group recognised the relevance of BirdLife’s global assessment of seabird bycatch in longline fisheries (SBWG-4 Doc 30) when considering examples of how seabird bycatch data should be collated and reviewed. Despite the inevitable inadequacies and assumptions contained within such data, the published estimate indicated at least 160,000 (and potentially in excess of 320,000) seabirds are killed annually, a large proportion of which are of albatross and petrel species listed in Annex 1 of the Agreement. Where realistic comparisons can be made with data from the 1990s, there is evidence of substantially reduced bycatch in some key fisheries. Reductions stem from decreased fishing effort (especially in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean), and greater and more effective use of technical mitigation measures, notably in demersal longline fisheries. Figure 1 of the document identifies the top 10 fisheries associated with the highest levels of seabird bycatch worldwide; these include a mix of demersal and pelagic longline fisheries. Fisheries with previously unidentified bycatch problems were also identified (e.g. the Spanish Gran Sol demersal fleet). The authors noted that significant data gaps prevent adequate assessments of the scale of the impact (e.g. in the Asian distant water fleet). Future assessments will only achieve greater precision when minimum standards of data collection, reporting and analysis are implemented by longline fishing fleets and the relevant regional fishery management organisations. Those fisheries where bycatch has been substantially reduced demonstrate that the problem of seabird bycatch can be reduced to negligible proportions by enforced implementation of appropriate best-practice mitigation devices and techniques.

Global seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. 15.8.1 The SBWG recognised the relevance of a recently published global assessment of seabird bycatch in longline fisheries conducted by BirdLife International (SBWG-4 Doc 30) when considering examples of how seabird bycatch data should be collated and reviewed. Despite the inevitable inadequacies and assumptions contained within such data, the published estimate indicated at least 160,000 (and potentially in excess of 320,000) seabirds are killed annually, a large proportion of which are of the albatross and petrel species listed in Annex 1 of the Agreement.

Global seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. 15.8.1 The SBWG recognised the relevance of a recently published global assessment of seabird bycatch in longline fisheries conducted by BirdLife International (SBWG-4 Doc