25 July 2017

28 June 2017 | Cape Town, South Africa. You might recall an article published recently, discussing the Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project National Awareness Workshop (NAW) that took place in Mahe, Seychelles in early June. To recap, these NAWs aim to address the devastating effect that the tuna longline industry has on seabird populations.   

Attendees of the Workshop.

Accidental bycatch, especially albatrosses and petrels, poses a serious threat to an already vulnerable group of seabirds.  While seabirds are by no means the only species affected by this industry, these workshops implemented by BirdLife International’s local partner BirdLife South Africa (BLSA), focus specifically on informing government, industry and other concerned parties of the available seabird mitigation measures, their effectiveness and their responsibility to implement and report on these. As can be expected, each country where a NAW is implemented is different. Each country and its corresponding tuna longline fleet comes with its own intricate set of challenges, obstacles and possible solutions. The South African NAW was no different. South Africa was not one of the original countries selected to form part of the Common Oceans project. However, through the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), South Africa’s SBT quota was increased for the 2017 fishing season. Due to this increase, the floor was opened for new rights holders to apply for fishing permits. And so it became pertinent to ensure that these new rights holders were made aware of their responsibilities.

The workshop that took place in Cape Town, South Africa, was attended by fishing rights holders, government officials and other related stakeholders. BLSA has a long-standing, working relationship with the tuna longline industry in South Africa, dating back to the ground-breaking work done on reducing seabird bycatch through the Albatross Task Force from 2006 onwards. This workshop therefore was a good opportunity for existing and new stakeholders to meet and discuss the current situation.

South Africa’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) falls south of 25 South. The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) regulations require that two out of three possible seabird bycatch mitigation measures (night setting, bird-scaring lines and line weighting) must be employed.  Night setting is mandatory in South African permit conditions, and vessels must choose between line weighting and the use of bird-scaring lines. However, there is currently no active observer programme within the longline industry to monitor compliance, and all expressed their desire for it to be re-established. On this topic, a point was raised and widely discussed, that just because there is currently no active observer programme, doesn’t mean that industry can’t take the initiative to take on observers regardless, and be pro-active about collecting seabird bycatch data. 

BirdLife South Africa’s Andrea Angel (Albatross Task Force Leader) and Nini van der Merwe (International Liaison Officer) hold up a demonstration model of a bird-scaring line to show the aerial extent required for this mitigation measure to adhere to tRFMO regulations

Anton Wolfaardt, the convenor of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), also attended the workshop. His presentation on ACAP best practise recommendations and the new research being done on hook-pods in New Zealand was very well received. Industry showed some interest in this form of mitigation, but only if it would be accepted as an all-encompassing measure.

The workshop uncovered and dispelled a misconception (amongst South African fishers), that if they catch birds, they will lose their license. Overcoming this is crucial to improve reporting of seabird bycatch, which is needed to determine if the current mitigation measures are implemented and effective. 

Another positive outcome from the workshop is that BLSA was able to assist government representatives present in the workshop by putting them in direct contact with the IOTC Secretariat staff, so that they could liaise directly with them to ensure that their new logbooks adhere to IOTC regulations. The new rights holders found the workshop very useful, as they had no prior knowledge of the extensive effects that the tuna longline industry had on seabird populations and were not familiar with the measures available to mitigate these. 

The report of the workshop is available here.  

The Common Oceans ABNJ Tuna Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility with the FAO as the implementing agency, harnesses the efforts of a large and diverse array of partners, including the five tuna tuna-RFMOs, governments, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and private sector. The Project aims to achieve responsible, efficient and sustainable tuna production and biodiversity conservation in the ABNJ.

Presentation by Anton Wolfaardt from ACAP.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Nini van der Merwe, International Liaison Officer and Office Administrator for BirdLife South Africa | [email protected]

Ms. Bronwyn Maree, Seabird Bycatch Coordinator Common Oceans Tuna Project | [email protected]

Mr. Alejandro Anganuzzi, Global Coordinator for the Common Oceans Tuna Project | [email protected]