Taiwanese longliners required to help preserve seabird species

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 20, 2006. It reports that according to a recent announcement by the Department of Fisheries under the Council of Agriculture, all Taiwanese longline vessels heading for waters below 28 degrees south latitude are now required to carry equipment that enables them to avoid catching seabirds during their fishing operations.

A report released by BirdLife International in 2003 claims that longline fishing vessels pose the single greatest threat to seabirds. About 17 species of albatross and 5 species of petrels are in particularly serious risk, because 19 of these species are found in the waters below 30 degrees south latitude. These seabirds like to scavenge behind fishing vessels and dive into the sea to eat the bait on the hooks.

Hundreds of thousands of them die each year after getting caught on hooks. Most of Taiwan's longliners operate in waters that are not habitats of the endangered albatross and petrel species. However, the government has decided that Taiwan has an obligation to help with the world's seabird conservation efforts.

Bird societies in more than 100 countries are now supporting a global campaign to save the seabirds. They call for measures to help reduce the death toll on the birds, which include the use of bird-friendly techniques, fishing by night, and fishing in seasons when the birds are migrating elsewhere.

According to the Council of Agriculture, all Taiwanese longline fishing vessels bound for the Southern Ocean must now use bird-scaring lines with plastic streamers, which flap vigorously behind the vessel and are able to deter the birds from baited hooks. These vessels may also weight their lines and make them sink rapidly out of the reach of the birds.