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Early work concentrated on recording seabirds and marine mammals at sea, primarily driven by a need to advise on the drilling of offshore exploratory oil wells in Falkland waters. From 1999 to 2002 this was undertaken under contract to Falklands Conservation by a ‘Seabirds at Sea Team’ from the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee which resulted in three reports:
Vulnerable Concentrations of Seabirds in Falkland Island Waters (available from our shop)
Seabird and Marine Mammal Dispersion in the Waters Around the Falkland Islands, 1998-1999 (available from our shop)
The Distribution of Seabirds and Marine Mammals in Falkland Islands Waters (2002) (Click for Summary and download link)
Key information on the distribution and occurrence of seabirds is now available to the Falklands offshore oil industry to inform decisions to be taken on the timing and location of drilling, and is available to advise on extraction issues at sea in the event of oil being discovered. There are still gaps in the data collected and repeat surveys need to be conducted to measure any shifts and changes in the populations and species observed.
A major threat was identified with evidence that fishing hooks and lines were catching and drowning thousands of seabirds. Not only were longline fisheries a problem (see Longliners, black-browed albatross mortality and bait scavenging in Falkland Island waters: what is the relationship?, and Seabird Mortality associated with Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) longliners in Falkland Island waters (145kb PDF)), but it was discovered that trawlers were also killing seabirds in considerable numbers as described in Seabird mortality on factory trawlers in the Falkland Islands and beyond.
To address this problem, Falklands Conservation drafted the Falkland Islands National Plans of Action – Seabirds for Longline Fisheries (331kb PDF) and Trawl Fisheries (262kb PDF), which were then adopted by the Falkland Islands Government, to ensure that commercial fisheries follow best practice. Falklands Conservation also pressed for greater legal protection for seabirds. The Falkland Islands are now included in the UK's ratification of the international Agreement for the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels (which includes and protects the Endangered Black-browed Albatross, the Vulnerable Southern Giant Petrel and White-chinned Petrel).
On a practical level our scientists have spent many months at sea developing effective mitigation devices to prevent seabirds being caught, and so reduce seabird mortality. Further details of this work can be found in the following reports and papers:
Mitigation of seabird mortality on factory trawlers: trials of three devices to reduce warp cable strikes
Consequences of the introduction of Tori Lines in relation to Seabird Mortality in the Falkland Islands Trawl Fishery. 2004-05 (337kb PDF)
and a Review of tori lines in the Falkland Islands Trawl Fleet 2006. (303kb PDF)
As a result of using mitigation devices as recommended and researched by Falklands Conservation the number of seabird deaths in Falkland waters associated with the commercial finfish fleet has declined by a huge 90%.
The effects on seabirds by jigging vessels (which catch squid – the major commercial fishery in Falkland waters) has also been investigated. There does not appear to be major interaction with seabirds, but there is some disturbing evidence of albatross being caught for food by the fishing boat crew. Further work to discover the scope of this problem is needed. Jigging Initiative: Observations of high sea jigging vessels from a Falkland islands Fishery Patrol Vessel (513kb PDF) gives more detail on this.
The key reason seabirds are attracted to fishing boats is the easy food supply thrown away as unwanted by-catch. If this could be reduced or better controlled the deadly interaction with seabirds would be greatly reduced. This issue is investigated in the report Waste Discard Management in the Falkland Islands Trawl Fishery (733kb PDF).
Seabirds can also be attracted to ships by lights, and this can result in death and injury. On the night of 30-31 January 2004 a large number of birds collided with the MV Dorada when our Project Officer Andy Black was on board. 899 birds were collected from the deck, of which 215 were dead. 684 were subsequently stored in the hold until their feathers reconditioned and were released alive the next day. Recommendations were subsequently made to minimize such mortality and are included in the paper: Light induced seabird mortality on vessels operating in the Southern Ocean: incidents and mitigation measures (52kb PDF)
For a world-wide perspective on the threats facing albatrosses and petrels visit Save the Albatross and have a look at ‘Sea Change’ – the newsletter of the Global Seabird Programme:
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