Draft National Plan of Action for Minimising the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Australian Capture Fisheries

Draft National Plan of Action for Minimising the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Australian Capture Fisheries

Commonwealth of Australia 2017

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Acknowledgements

PLACE HOLDER

ContentsGlossaryvIntroduction1Scope3Rationale4Seabirds at risk of incidental catch4Australias capture fisheries4Objectives7Framework for achieving objectives of NPOASeabirds8Objective 1 Understand the extent of incidental catch ofseabirds8Objective 2 Have best practice seabird bycatch mitigation in capturefisheries9Objective 3 Promote development of innovative mitigation procedures and technologies that are feasible, effective and efficient11Objective 4 Increase awareness and understanding of the incidental catch of seabirds and best practice mitigation12Objective 5 Promote adoption of effective mitigation measures in regional fisheries and conservation bodies12Implementation14Government subcommittee14Roles and responsibilities14Resourcing15Evaluation and review16Appendix A: Data categories for best practice risk assessments17Appendix B: Minimum standards for collecting seabird interaction data18Appendix C: Principles for recreational fishing codes of practice24Principle 1 Reduce seabird attraction to fishing activity24Principle 2 Use responsible fishing practices24Principle 3 Promote best practice hook removal24Principle 4 Promote best practice seabird handling24Appendix D: Summary of best practice approaches for longline, trawl, set net and recreational fisheries25Appendix E: Implementation actiontables29Objective 129Objective 230Objective 330Objective 431Objective 531References32

Glossary

Term

Definition

ACAP

Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels

AFMA

Australian Fisheries Management Authority

bycatch

Species that physically interact with fishing vessels and/or fishing gear which are not usually retained by commercial fishers and do not make a contribution to the economic value of the fishery.

capture fishery

refers to all kinds of harvesting of naturally occurring living fish resources, including industrial, small-scale and recreational.

Ecologically Sustainable Development

the principles of ecologically sustainable development as defined under the Environment and Biosecurity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and include:(a) decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long-term and short-term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations; (b) if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation; (c) the principle of inter-generational equitythat the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations; (d) the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration in decision-making; and (e) improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted.

incidental catch

See bycatch

interaction

Any physical contact between a person and a protected species. This includes all catching (hooked, netted, entangled) and collisions with individuals of these species

IPOASeabirds

International Plan of Action for reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries

NPOASeabirds

National Plan of Action for minimising the incidental catch of seabirds in Australian capture fisheries

offal (marine)

discarded waste from processing fish (including, among other things, discarded fish and other organisms and unused baits) discarded food and food scraps

Seabird

A species of the class Aves that frequents coastal waters and the open ocean: gulls; pelicans; gannets; cormorants; albatrosses; petrels; shearwaters; etc.

TAPSeabirds

Threat Abatement Plan for the Incidental Catch (or Bycatch) of Seabirds During Oceanic Longline Fishing Operations

Draft National Plan of Action for Minimising the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Australian Capture Fisheries

Department of Agriculture and Water Resources

34

Introduction

Fishing can represent a substantial threat to some seabird populations. Most seabirds are primarily surface feeders, taking their prey from the top few metres of the water column (Harper, Croxall & Cooper 1985). Many species are at-sea scavengers, preying on dead fish, squid and other marine life found floating on the surface. Scavenging seabirds supplement their diet by feeding on discards from vessels and baited hooks, and from fisheries catch as it is being hauled (Baker et al. 2002).

The negative effects of fisheries practices occur most often when fishing and seabird foraging behaviour overlap (Alexander, Robertson & Gales 1997; Baker, Gales & Hamilton 2002; Birdlife International 1995; Croxall 1998; Croxall et al. 2012; Gales 1998). The incidental catch of seabirds in capture fisheries has been an issue of international concern since the 1980s (Brothers 1991; Gales 1998). Examples of the many studies highlighting the number of seabirds killed annually by fishing operations include Anderson et al. 2011; Brothers 1991; Brothers, Gales & Reid 1998; Gales 1998; Zydelis, Small & French 2013.

In 1999 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adopted the International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries (IPOASeabirds). IPOASeabirds is a voluntary instrument within the framework of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries that sets out principles and international standards of behaviour for responsible fishing practices. To support implementation of IPOASeabirds, in 2009 the FAO developed best practice guidelines to reduce incidental catch of seabirds in capture fisheries (Box 1). These covered interactions between seabirds and all types of fishing gear used by industrial, artisanal and traditional fisheries. The guidelines recognised that seabird mortalities resulting from trawl and gillnet fisheries were less documented but were becoming a global problem.

Australia undertakes activities to manage incidental catch of seabirds. Following release of IPOASeabirds in 1999, Australia prepared an assessment report about reducing incidental catch of seabirds in longline fisheries (Commonwealth of Australia 2003). The report provided an updated assessment on the extent and nature of incidental catch of seabirds in Australian longline fisheries. It concluded that the Threat Abatement Plan for the Incidental Catch (or bycatch) of Seabirds During Oceanic Longline Fishing Operations (TAPSeabirds) was largely fulfilling the role of a national plan but only for longline fisheries. National assessments of seabird bycatch in Australian fisheries undertaken in 2003 and 2008 (Baker & Finley 2010; Commonwealth of Australia 2003) recommended that reporting be improved to better understand seabird interactions across all capture fisheries. They also recommended the development of a National Plan of Action for Minimising the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Australian Capture Fisheries (NPOASeabirds) that would promote national coordination and action to better understand and mitigate impacts of fishing activities on seabirds.

Since the release of the IPOA-Seabirds, Australia has updated its TAPSeabirds (twice, in 2006 and 2014) and become a signatory to the international Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) in 2001, which coordinates international activity to mitigate known t