The Multi-year Seabird Strategy, adopted at the Twenty Ninth Annual Meeting, outlines a comprehensive plan to address the impact of southern bluefin tuna (SBT) fishing operations on seabird populations. The strategy is developed by the Ecologically Related Species Working Group (ERSWG) and aims to reduce or eliminate seabird bycatch, ensuring that SBT fisheries do not significantly harm seabirds. The strategy is organized around five specific objectives, each with a set of actions to achieve them. These objectives include reducing the impact of seabird bycatch on populations, collecting reliable data on seabird mortality, developing cost-effective seabird bycatch mitigation technologies, refining compliance approaches, and enhancing education and outreach programs. To achieve these objectives, the strategy outlines various actions, such as setting seabird bycatch targets, evaluating the effectiveness of seabird conservation measures, updating risk assessments, and developing protocols for managing high risk areas. It also emphasizes the importance of collaboration with industry and organizations like the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) to refine seabird bycatch mitigation technologies and techniques. The strategy also highlights the need for timely, reliable data collection to support accurate estimations of seabird mortality and its impact on populations. It encourages the use of electronic monitoring systems and emphasizes the importance of reporting and disseminating incidentally caught seabirds by species according to agreed standards.
2022-10-14