FISHERMEN'S AWARDS FOR SEABIRD-SMART PRACTICES
Seabirds around a surface longliner and trawler, West Coast (photo by Greg Tinney).
Skipper Wayne Kusabs shows off his seabird-smart sticker
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ommercial fishers around the country have been swapping tips and techniques to keep seabirds away from their fishing boats, with skippers and crew from a mixture of trawl and longline owner-operated and company vessels attending half day workshops on seabird- smart fishing in Leigh, Auckland, Tauranga, Whitianga, Nelson, Greymouth and Timaru. Janice Molloy, Convenor of Southern Seabird Solutions, says the content of each workshop has been tailored to the needs of the particular fishing fleet attending, with information provided about local seabirds, the latest developments in seabird-smart fishing practices, and benefits for the fishing industry of being seabird-smart.
The president of the Leigh Commercial Fishermen's Association, Michael Goldsworthy says the turnout of 55 fishermen from Whakatane and Tauranga in the south, to Whangarei and Houhora in the north, to a recent workshop shows how important seabird-smart practices are to fishermen: "Leigh fishermen have been proactive in seabird mitigation
Fishers at the Nelson seabird-smart workshop on board the FV Amaltal Explorer
practices for the last 20 years, but it is important for us to keep up to date in our knowledge and ensure that all of our fishermen understand why seabird-smart fishing is so important. We must continue to be innovative and proactive in seabird mitigation. It is part of our best fishing practice and the Southern Seabird Solutions workshop is a way for us to share and update this knowledge."
The President for the NZ Federation of Commercial Fishermen, Doug Saunders-Loder, says "We're out there to carry on our business of fishing and no one likes to see a bird accidentally caught."
The workshops are also being used to get the word out about the Seabird Smart Awards. The awards are an opportunity to recognise individuals or groups in the industry who demonstrate commitment to seabird-smart fishing in New Zealand.
The Leigh Commercial Fishermens Association were finalists in 2010 for their pioneering seabird smart fishing practices in the inshore longline fleet, and the 2010 winners of the award were the skipper and crew of the Sealord vessel FV Thomas Harrison, for mitigation research they carried out in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Deepwater Group.
The Seabird Smart Workshops have been sponsored by the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Primary Industries. The Seabird Smart Awards are sponsored by Sealord, Sanford Ltd and Ministry for Primary Industries. Southern Seabird Solutions Trust is an alliance including representatives from the seafood industry, New Zealand government, WWF and Te Ohu Kaimoana that takes a cooperative approach to seabird conservation. For more information about Southern Seabird Solutions visit www.southernseabirds.org or email info@southernseabirds.org.
November/December 2012 Professional Skipper 15
