Abstract
Commercial fisheries currently pose a serious threat at sea to the conservation of a number of pelagic seabirds. However, these interactions are complex, and reports on population-specific bycatch in the high seas are scarce. Here we report the case of an Indian yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche carteri re-sighted on Amsterdam Island after an apparent capture by an Indonesian long-liner, as indicated by a message attached to the bird. This record demonstrates that Amsterdam birds may interact with long-liners indeed, at least during winter, and that such interactions are not systematically lethal. We suggest that bycatch sub-lethal effects should be investigated at colonies with high risks of individual capture at sea.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Fieldwork was supported financially and logistically by the Institut Polaire Français Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV, Program No. 109: resp. H. Weimerskirch), the Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF), and the Zone Atelier Antarctique (INSU-CNRS).
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Thiebot, JB., Demay, J., Marteau, C. et al. The rime of the modern mariner: evidence for capture of yellow-nosed albatross from Amsterdam Island in Indian Ocean longline fisheries. Polar Biol 38, 1297–1300 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1680-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1680-5