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A Seabird Guide for Fishermen prepared by the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project team has been adopted as the basis for an international poster for fishermen following its presentation during an international meeting in Madrid last week.

Ray Caruana of the Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences (MCFS) presented the guide to the participants together with an important paper on the accidental by-catch of seabirds in Maltese waters by MCFS science staff. The paper is one of the first of its kind in the Mediterranean, and was also warmly received by the international delegates. Mr Caruana was attending the ICCAT sub-committee meeting (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) on behalf of MCFS and the Yelkouan Shearwater Project.

The project is a partnership of government authorities, international conservation organisations and BirdLife Malta. One of its key aims is to reduce the number of shearwaters which are accidentally caught by fishermen. The first step has been to find out the extent of the problem in Maltese waters and the preliminary results of this effort were detailed in the paper. Raising awareness through initiatives such as the Seabird Guide has also been key.

Mr. Caruana explained: “I presented the initial results of a questionnaire to fishermen which was carried out earlier this year. It indicated that a number of shearwaters may be being caught by accident. Fishermen do not want to catch these birds either as it reduces fishing efficiency, so throughout the project we will be collecting more data on by-catch and working with the fishing community to reduce it. The Seabird Guide will help the fishermen to identify the birds that they find at sea.”

Seabird by-catch is a serious threat to bird populations across the world. Since Malta has around 10% of the world’s population of Yelkouan Shearwaters and 5% of Cory’s Shearwaters, project partners are taking seriously their responsibility to understand and deal with this threat to prevent serious declines of these birds. Fortunately, there are simple measures that fishermen can take to ensure that they catch fish not birds, such as using streamers to scare the birds, setting from the side and at night, and putting weights on their lines to ensure that they sink quickly out of reach of the birds. The project’s Seabird Guide for Fishermen explains what to do if a bird is caught so as to ensure better chances of survival. This leaflet is being distributed to the entire Maltese fishing fleet.

The initial response from the fishing community to the project has been very positive with the majority of fishermen indicating that they are interested in working with the project team to protect the birds and enhance fishing productivity. For more information, visit the project website at Maltese work to reduce seabird by-catch internationally welcomed

A Seabird Guide for Fishermen prepared by the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project team has been adopted as the basis for an international poster for fishermen following its presentation during an international meeting in Madrid last week.

Ray Caruana of the Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences (MCFS) presented the guide to the participants together with an important paper on the accidental by-catch of seabirds in Maltese waters by MCFS science staff. The paper is one of the first of its kind in the Mediterranean, and was also warmly received by the international delegates.

Mr Caruana was attending the ICCAT sub-committee meeting (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) on behalf of MCFS and the Yelkouan Shearwater Project. The project is a partnership of government authorities, international conservation organisations and BirdLife Malta. One of its key aims is to reduce the number of shearwaters which are accidentally caught by fishermen. The first step has been to find out the extent of the problem in Maltese waters and the preliminary results of this effort were detailed in the paper. Raising awareness through initiatives such as the Seabird Guide has also been key.

Mr. Caruana explained: “I presented the initial results of a questionnaire to fishermen which was carried out earlier this year. It indicated that a number of shearwaters may be being caught by accident. Fishermen do not want to catch these birds either as it reduces fishing efficiency, so throughout the project we will be collecting more data on by-catch and working with the fishing community to reduce it. The Seabird Guide will help the fishermen to identify the birds that they find at sea.”

Seabird by-catch is a serious threat to bird populations across the world. Since Malta has around 10% of the world’s population of Yelkouan Shearwaters and 5% of Cory’s Shearwaters, project partners are taking seriously their responsibility to understand and deal with this threat to prevent serious declines of these birds. Fortunately, there are simple measures that fishermen can take to ensure that they catch fish not birds, such as using streamers to scare the birds, setting from the side and at night, and putting weights on their lines to ensure that they sink quickly out of reach of the birds. The project’s Seabird Guide for Fishermen explains what to do if a bird is caught so as to ensure better chances of survival. This leaflet is being distributed to the entire Maltese fishing fleet.

The initial response from the fishing community to the project has been very positive with the majority of fishermen indicating that they are interested in working with the project team to protect the birds and enhance fishing productivity. For more information, please visit the project website.