Senior policy officer for the BirdLife International marine programme, Rory Crawford , is taking part in one of GAP2’s new exchange projects – travelling to Puget Sound this September.
Here he reflects on new gillnet technology which help reduce high levels of seabird by catch – and how Puget Sound is the perfect place to learn more and share new ideas with his exchange partner, Rex Harrison (a fisherman from Filey, UK). Make sure to follow the exchange on Twitter on @GAP2_project, #GAP2Exchange.
Razorbill Chris Roebuck © National Geographic
As a marine biologist, the Puget Sound is the kind of place you always dream of going: a seascape completely bursting with life, from incredibly colourful starfish to great profusions of top predators like orcas and seabirds. So the opportunity to go on a GAP2 exchange to this part of the world is a bit of a dream come true. However, I’m there to work, and work I will!
I’m flying to Seattle with Rex Harrison. On paper, you might think he and I are unlikely travel companions – Rex is a salmon fisherman from Filey Bay in Yorkshire – I’m a vegetarian working for the Marine Programme of global conservation partnership BirdLife International. We do have something in common though – an interest in reducing seabird bycatch in fisheries.
Sockeye Salmon Peter Essick © National Geographic
I met Rex last year, when he showed me salmon net fishing in action. Rex is one of a small number of fishermen working the very picturesque Filey Bay, using gillnets known as ‘J-nets’. Some years ago, large numbers of razorbills and guillemots were being accidentally caught in the fishermen’s nets. In recent years, these numbers have declined substantially, and significant efforts have been made by the netsmen to this end
They now fish with specially modified high visibility nets, attend their nets to try and safely remove any bird bycatch, and don’t leave nets in the water overnight at certain times of the year. I was particularly interested in the high visibility nets being used, as my main objective for BirdLife over the coming years is to work with fishermen to develop mitigation measures that minimise the bycatch of seabirds in gillnets. The first ever global review of bird bycatch in gillnets was published last year, and conservatively estimates that 400,000 birds die in this fishing gear every year – so the conservation imperative for finding a solution to this problem is clear!
Guillemots Paul Nicklen © National Geographic
What does all this have to do with the Puget Sound? Well, some of the only research done on seabird bycatch mitigation in gillnet fisheries was done here by Ed Melvin, a well-respected seabird bycatch specialist based at Washington University. His work, back in the 1990s, resulted in the development and adoption of modified bycatch-reducing nets in the sockeye salmon fishery that operates in the Sound. These nets also have a high visibility section, though it is configured quite differently from the nets used in Filey. Rex and I will be meeting with sockeye fishermen and spending time on vessels, chatting to the management authorities, and of course, meeting Ed himself to discuss his original work in the Sound – all with a view to understanding more about what knowledge we might be able to take back and apply to other fisheries – and vice versa!
It looks certain to be an incredibly useful exchange, and I’m hopeful that, in whatever small way, it will lead to fewer seabirds losing their lives in gillnet fisheries. We have a long road to travel, but collaboration is one of the first steps to take.
If you have any questions about this exchange, or the programme in general, then do get in touch: Katrina@mindfullywired.org
