A four-year action plan to reduce seabird mortality caused by trawl fishing around the Falkland Islands has recently been approved by the Falkland Islands Government. The Plan was drafted by Falklands Conservation, working closely with the Fisheries Department.

The trawling fleet operating in the Falklands is made up of mostly demersal trawlers fishing at the bottom of the sea where seabirds can be killed from interaction with warp cables. For the small number of pelagic trawlers, fishing in the water column, seabird mortality may be caused by interaction with fish enmeshed in the net – where seabirds can also get caught.

A trawler is followed by seabirds while discarding fish offal. Photo: Penguin News

The first National Plan of Action of 2004 has been re-evaluated in the light of new information and evidence of continuing seabird mortality. Mitigation measures have been re-assessed, adapted and trialled in collaboration with FIG Fisheries, fishing companies and vessel crews. The report would not have been possible without the help of all those who have spent countless hours exposed to the elements collecting invaluable information at sea.

The Plan contains extensive background detail and a framework to reduce seabird interaction and deaths. A set of mitigation measures to tackle identified problems has been implemented in the licence conditions of the trawling fleet to minimise impact on the internationally important seabird populations of the Falklands.