Seabird Safety

New Zealand has a reputation for being the ‘seabird capital’ of the world. Of the 360 species of seabirds worldwide, 86 breed in New Zealand and 36 breed only in New Zealand.

MPI is tasked with managing fishing interactions with seabirds from all sectors and minimising these wherever possible. MPI developed the National Plan of Action (NPOA) – Seabirds 2013 to guide the management approach and help create an environment where seabirds thrive without pressure from fishingrelated mortalities.

Working alongside MPI – and with many of the same goals – is the Southern Seabird Solutions Trust. This group is made up of members of the fishing industry, government departments, the recreational fishing sector and conservationists.

The trust works with commercial fishers, recreational fishers, associated agencies and industry to reduce harm to seabirds from fishing. Its motto, ‘conservation through cooperation’, expresses the trust’s desire to empower fishers using a cooperative and practical approach to seabird conservation. The trust also works internationally and runs projects that contribute to reducing the effects of fishing on seabirds in fisheries throughout the southern hemisphere.

Southern Seabird Solutions Trust was formed in July 2002 at a workshop of industry, environmental and government interests. While each organisation had a different mandate and interest, the goal of reducing harm to seabirds from fishing was held in common.

The core work of the trust is funded by five partners: MPI, Department of Conservation, Te Ohu Kaimoana (working on behalf of customary commercial and non-commercial fishing interests), Seafood New Zealand, and World Wildlife Fund New Zealand. The trust receives additional funding and significant support from industry groups, recreational fishing, and environmental organisations.

To date the trust has had significant success working with the commercial-fishing industry to promote its seabird safe fishing message. Innovative partnerships, such as those seen with commercial long-line fishers around the Coromandel Peninsula and North Cape, have resulted in much greater awareness.

So how does this all relate to recreational fishing? While information on seabird interactions with recreational anglers is limited, some species that are nationally vulnerable or declining (such as black petrels and flesh-footed shearwaters) may be at risk from recreational fishing practices.

Because of the large number of recreational anglers congregating in relatively small areas, such as the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Plenty, which also happen to be crucial feeding sites for seabirds, even a small rate of interaction between individual anglers and seabirds may have an impact on population levels.

Another study indicates there may be tens of thousands of seabird captures by New Zealand recreational anglers each year. Even though this number of interactions is high, over three-quarters of birds recorded as being captured were released unharmed.

No-one wants to catch a seabird, and the trust believes anglers themselves are key to reducing this catch and making sure our seabirds are around in the future.  

Anglers use seabirds to find fish, so are well acquainted with the birds’ feeding antics.  

There is no ‘silver bullet’ that will stop seabirds being caught while fishing, but greater awareness, a caring attitude, and making some small changes to the way we fish can have a big and positive impact.  

The trust has worked with charter skippers, anglers and seabird specialists to come up with four basic actions anglers can take to lessen the chance of catching a seabird:

• Fish tidy: Keep the deck clean and put bait scraps and fish waste in covered bins until hooks are out of the water;
• Fish fast: Seabirds mostly fish within six metres of the surface, so the quicker you can get your hook and bait out of this zone when dropping (and retrieving) your lines the better;
• Berley well below the birds: Sink your berley containers deep to avoid attracting birds;
• Deter or distract birds from your gear: For example, spray a deck-hose or water-gun towards the birds if they are going for your bait. If you have other techniques that you think might work, please contact the trust at [email protected] 

MPI is working closely with the trust to help spread their seabird safe fishing messages. In May this year the MPI recreational-fishing team shared a stand at the Hutchwilco Boat Show in Auckland. Together they handed out thousands of pamphlets outlining seabird-safe fishing messages and had many conversations with keen recreational anglers.

MPI plans to maintain this relationship, as we really believe in the effectiveness of this work. You can look on our compliance Facebook site over the next few months for Southern Seabird Solutions Trust messages. For more information on the trust, visit www.southernseabirds.org.