Abstract
The effects of temporal, spatial, environmental and operational effects on seabird incidental mortality in the legal Patagonian toothfish longline fishery operating, between 2003 and 2006, in French exclusive economic zones of Crozet and Kerguelen Islands were analysed. During the study period, the mean bycatch rate varied from 0.05 to 0.12 birds per 1,000 hooks. Two species were concerned by incidental mortality: white-chinned petrels (88%) and grey petrels (11.5%). Males of white-chinned petrel seemed more at a risk than females. Logbooks data tended to underreport mortality when compared with dedicated fishery observers. The results indicate that temporal (season or phenology) and spatial (area) factors reflecting mortality risk for seabirds played the most significant role in the incidental mortality of the two species. Operational (integrated weight mainline, number of scaring lines and number of hooks hauled) and environmental factors (wind/vessel angle, moon brightness) were also influential, although less significantly, in increasing this mortality risk. Our two steps analyses by separately modelling the probability of presence and the abundance given presence suggest that the decrease in seabird bycatch over the period was mainly due to an important decrease in probability (occurrence) of mortality.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ACAP (2005) Advisory Committee of Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. Report of the 1st Meeting of Advisory Committee. ACAP, Hobart, ACAP/AC1/Doc.11 Available via http://www.acap.aq/
Anderson S, McArdle B (2002) Sink rate of baited hooks during deployment of a pelagic longline from a New Zealand fishing vessel. New Zealand J Mar Freshw Res 36:195
Barbraud C, Delord K, Marteau C, Weimerskirch H (2006) Evaluation de l’impact des pêcheries sur les populations de pétrels à menton blanc et de pétrels gris aux îles Crozet et Kerguelen. Unpublished report, pp 90
Barbraud C, Marteau C, Ridoux V, Delord K, Weimerskirch H (2008) Demographic response of a population of white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis to climate and longline fishery bycatch. J Appl Ecol 45:1460–1467
Barbraud C, Marteau C, Delord K, Weimerskirch H (2009) Estimates of population size of white-chinned petrels and grey petrels at Kerguelen Islands and sensitivity to fisheries. Anim Conserv 12:258–265
Barnes KN, Ryan PG, Boix-Hinzen C (1997) The impact of the hake Merluccius sp. longline fishery off South Africa on procellariiform seabirds. Biol Conserv 82:227–234
Bartle JA (1990) Sexual segregation of foraging zones in procellariiform birds: implications of accidental capture on commercial fishery longlines of grey petrels (Procellaria cinerea). Notornis 37:146–150
Berrow SD, Croxall JP, Grant SD (2000) Status of white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis Linnaeus 1758, at Bird Island, South Georgia. Antarct Sci 12:399–405
BirdLife International (2004) Procellaria cinerea. In: IUCN 2007, 2007 IUCN Red list of threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed 16 Jan 2008
BirdLife International (2005) Procellaria aequinoctialis. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed 15 Jan 2008
Boggs CH (2001) In: Melvin EF, Parrish JK (eds) Deterring albatrosses from contacting baits during swordfish longline sets. University of Alaska Sea Grant, Fairbanks, pp 79–94
Bregnballe T, Frederiksen M (2006) Net-entrapment of great cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis in relation to individual age and population size. Wildl Biol 12:143–150
Brooke M (1990) In: Poyser T, AD (eds) The Manx shearwater. Academic press, London
Brothers N (1991) Albatross mortality and associated bait loss in the Japanese longline fishery in the Southern Ocean. Biol Conserv 55:255–268
Brothers N, Cooper J, Løkkeborg S (1999a) The incidental catch of seabirds by longline fisheries: worldwide review and technical guidelines for mitigation. FAO Fisheries Circular 937, 101
Brothers N, Gales R, Reid T (1999b) The influence of environmental variables and mitigation measures on seabird catch rates in the Japanese tuna longline fishery within the Australian Fishing Zone, 1991–1995. Biol Conserv 88:85–101
Brothers N, Gales R, Reid T (2001) The effect of line weighting on the sink rate of pelagic tuna longline hooks and its potential minimising seabird mortalities, CCSBT-ERS/0111/53, CCSBT, Canberra, pp 23
Bugoni L, Mancini PL, Monteiro DS, Nascimento L, Neves TS (2008) Seabird bycatch in the Brazilian pelagic longline fishery and a review of captures rates in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Endanger Species Res 5:137–147
Bull LS (2007) Reducing seabird bycatch in longline, trawl and gillnet fisheries. Fish Fish 8:31–56
Catard A, Weimerskirch H, Cherel Y (2000) Exploitation of distant Antarctic waters and close shelf-break waters by white-chinned petrels rearing chicks. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 194:249–261
Cherel Y, Weimerskirch H, Duhamel G (1996) Interactions between longline vessels and seabirds in Kerguelen waters and a method to reduce seabird mortality. Biol Conserv 75:63–70
del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J (eds) (1992) Handbook of the birds of the World, vol 1. Ostrich to ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona
Delord K, Gasco N, Weimerskirch H, Barbraud C (2005) Seabird mortality in the Patagonian toothfish longline fishery around Crozet and Kerguelen Islands, 2001–2003. CCAMLR Sci 12:53–80
Favero M, Khatchikian CE, Arias A, Rodriguez MPS, Canete G, Mariano-Jelicich R (2003) Estimates of seabird by-catch along the Patagonian shelf by Argentine longline fishing vessels, 1999–2001. Bird Conserv Int 13:273–281
Fletcher D, Mackenzie D, Villouta E (2005) Modelling skewed data with many zeros: a simple approach combining ordinary and logistic regression. Environ Ecol Stat 12:45–54
Gales R, Brothers N, Reid T (1998) Seabird mortality in the Japanese tuna longline fishery around Australia, 1988–1995. Biol Conserv 86:37–56
Gandini P, Frere E (2006) Spatial and temporal patterns in the bycatch of seabirds in the Argentinian longline fishery. Fish Bull 104:482–485
Gilman E, Brothers N, Kobayashi DR (2005) Principles and approaches to abate seabird by-catch in longline fisheries. Fish Fish 6:35–49
Huin N (1994) Diving depths of white-chinned petrels. Condor 96:1111–1113
IOTC (2005) Report of the first session of the IOTC working party on bycatch. FAO, pp 1–15
IOTC (2006) Report of the second session of the IOTC working party on bycatch
IOTC (2007) Report of the third session of the IOTC working party on bycatch. FAO, pp 1–39
Jouventin P, Stahl JC, Weimerskirch H, Mougin JL (1984) The seabirds of the French subantarctic islands and Adélie Land, their status and conservation. In: Croxall JP, Evans PGH, Schreiber RW (eds) status and conservation of the world’s seabirds. ICBP Technical Publication 2, pp 609–625
Klaer N, Polacheck T (1998) The influence of environmental factors and mitigation measures on by-catch rates of seabirds by Japanese longline fishing vessels in the Australian region. Emu 98:305–316
Martin AR, Poncet S, Barbraud C, Foster E, Fretwell P, Rothery P (2009) The white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) on South Georgia: population size, distribution and global significance. Polar Biol 32:655–661
Melvin EF, Parrish JK (2008) Seabird bycatch: trends, roadblocks and solutions. University of Alaska Sea Grant, USA
Mills MSL, Ryan PG (2005) Modelling impacts of long-line fishing: what are the effects of pair-bond disruption and sex-biased mortality on albatross fecundity? Anim Conserv 8:359–367
Moreno CA, Rubilar PS, Marschoff E, Benzaquen L (1996) Factors affecting the incidental mortality of seabirds in the dissostichus eleginoides in the Southwest Atlantic (subarea 48.3, season 1995). CCAMLR Sci 3:79–91
Murray TE, Bartle JA, Kalish SR, Taylor PR (1993) Incidental capture of seabirds by Japanese southern bluefin tuna longline vessels in New Zealand waters, 1988–1992. Bird Conserv Int 3:181–210
Nel DC, Ryan PG, Watkins BP (2002) Seabird mortality in the patagonian toothfish longline fishery around the Prince Edward Islands, 1996–2000. Antarct Sci 14:151–161
Nel DC, Taylor FE, Ryan PG, Cooper J (2003) Population dynamics of the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans at Marion Island: longline fishing and environmental influences. Afr J Mar Sci 25:503–517
Petersen SL (2006) Incidental mortality of seabirds, turtles and sharks: a review of data collected east of 20 degrees by South African observers. In: FAO (ed) Report of the first session of the IOTC working party on bycatch, IOTC-2005-WPBy-06, IOTC 2005, Phuket, pp 1–15. http://www.iotc.org/files/proceedings/2005/wpby/IOTC-2005-WPBy-06.pdf
Petersen SL, Honig MB, Nel D (2007) The impact of longline fisheries on seabirds in the Benguela current large marine ecosystem. In: Petersen SL, Nel D, Omardien A (eds) Towards an ecosystem approach to longline fisheries in the Benguela: an assessment of impacts on seabirds, sea turtles and sharks. WWF South Africa Report Series, 2007/Marine/001, pp 9–31
Phillips R, Silk JRD, Croxall JP, Afanasyev V (2006) Year-round distribution of white-chinned petrels from South Georgia: relationships with oceanography and fisheries. Biol Conserv 129:336–347
Pinaud D, Weimerskirch H (2007) At-sea distribution and scale-dependent foraging behaviour of petrels and albatrosses: a comparative study. J Anim Ecol 76:9–19
Reid T, Catry P (2006) In: Falklands Conservation and New Island South Conservation Trust (eds) The white-chinned petrel population of the Falkland Islands. Stanley
Ridoux V (1994) The diets and dietary segregation of seabirds at the subantarctic Crozet Islands. Mar Ornithol 22:1–192
Robertson GG, Gales R (1998) Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty and Sons (ed), Sydney
Robertson GG, McNeill M, Smith NW, Wienecke BC, Candy S, Olivier F (2006) Fast sinking (integrated weight) longlines reduce mortality of white-chinned petrels (Procellaria aequinoctialis) and sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) in demersal longline fisheries. Biol Conserv 132:458–471
Roche C, Guinet C, Gasco N, Duhamel G (2007) Marine mammals and demersal longline fishery interactions in Crozet and Kerguelen exclusive economic zones: an assessment of depredation level. CCAMLR Sci 14:67–82
Ryan PG, Boix-Hinzen C (1999) Consistent male-biased seabird mortality in the patagonian toothfish longline fishery. Auk 116:851–854
SAS Institute (1998–2001) SAS language guide for personal computers, Release 8.2 edn. SAS Institute, Inc., Gary, NC
SC-CAMLR (2002) Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Report of the 21th Meeting of the Scientific Committee. CCAMLR, Hobart, SC-CAMLR-XXI/BG/22
SC-CAMLR (2006) Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Report of the 25th Meeting of the Scientific Committee. CCAMLR, Hobart
SC-CAMLR (2008) Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Report of the 27th Meeting of the Scientific Committee. CCAMLR, Hobart
Small C (2005) Regional fisheries management organisations: their duties and performance in reducing bycatch of albatrosses and other species. In: BirdLife International, Cambridge, pp 1–101
Stahl JC, Bartle JA, Jouventin P, Roux JP, Weimerskirch H (1996) Atlas of seabird distribution in the south-west Indian Ocean. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-UPR 1934 Unpublished report, Villiers en Bois, pp 226
Sullivan BJ, Reid T, Bugoni L (2006) Seabird mortality on factory trawlers in the Falkland Islands and beyond. Biol Conserv 131:495–504
Tuck GN, Polacheck T, Croxall JP, Weimerskirch H (2001) Modelling the impact of fishery by-catches on albatross populations. J Appl Ecol 38:1182–1196
Tuck GN, Polacheck T, Bulman CM (2003) Spatio-temporal trends of longline fishing effort in the Southern Ocean and implications for seabird bycatch. Biol Conserv 114:1–27
Watkins BP, Petersen SL, Ryan PG (2008) Interactions between seabirds and deep-water hake trawl gear: an assessment of impacts in South African waters. Anim Conserv 11:247–254
Waugh S, Barbraud C, Delord K, Robertson G (2008) Seabird bycatch in the French toothfish fishery: report of a cooperative study in 2008. SC-CAMLR-XXVII/BG/10, Unpublished report, pp 55
Weimerskirch H, Jouventin P (1987) Population dynamics of the Wandering Albatross, Diomedea exulans, of the Crozet Islands: cause and consequences of the population decline. Oikos 49:315–322
Weimerskirch H, Zotier R, Jouventin P (1989) The avifauna of the Kerguelen islands. Emu 89:15–29
Weimerskirch H, Brothers N, Jouventin P (1997) Population dynamics of Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans and Amsterdam Albatross D. amsterdamensis in the Indian Ocean and their relationship with long-line fisheries: conservation implications. Biol Conserv 79:257–270
Weimerskirch H, Catard A, Prince PA, Cherel Y, Croxall JP (1999) Foraging white-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis at risk: from the tropics to Antarctica. Biol Conserv 87:273–275
Weimerskirch H, Capdeville D, Duhamel G (2000) Factors affecting the number and mortality of seabirds attending trawlers and long-liners in the Kerguelen area. Polar Biol 23:236–249
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the French Southern Territories for organisation of the programme of on-board observers and for financial and logistical support. We thank Prof. G. Duhamel, P. Pruvost and fishing observers for their contribution in collecting data, without which this study would not have been possible. We thank the Syndicat des Armements Réunionnais de Palangriers Congélateurs and the French Polar Institute (IPEV programme n°109-H. Weimerskirch) for financial and logistical support. We thank M. Louzao for useful comments on the manuscript. We thank three anonymous referees for constructive comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Delord, K., Gasco, N., Barbraud, C. et al. Multivariate effects on seabird bycatch in the legal Patagonian toothfish longline fishery around Crozet and Kerguelen Islands. Polar Biol 33, 367–378 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0713-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0713-3