Seabird by-catch in small-scale longline fisheries in northern Peru

Longlining has been encouraged in Peru as an opportunity for small-scale fi shermen to reduce cetacean mortality in gill nets. Very little is known abo ut seabird by-catch in this longline fishing. In January 1999, we conducted sun ey in five fishing villages in northern Peru to estimate seabird by-ca tch and 29 fishermen were interviewed. Eighty percent of the fishermen used frozen bait, which increases the probability of seabird mortality Ninety p ercent of fishermen confirmed that birds ate hooked while setting the gear. Additionally we found that over 40% of hooked seabirds were albatrosses. T he most common albatross off northern Peru is the Waved Albatross (Phoebast ia irrorata) and about 60% of the population of the Chatham Island Albatros s (Thalassarche eremita) winters off Peru. Both species are considered thre atened due to their small population sizes. Seabird by-catch in the Peruvia n small-scale longline fishery should be of conservation concern; pooled es timates of by-catch rates based on interviews were 1 to 2 birds/1,000 hooks . The estimated bi-catch of albatrosses by tile entire fleet is likely to l ie between 2,370 and 5,610 birds each par, which represents between 5% and 13% of the pooled populations of the Waved and Chatham Island Albatrosses. Even though these numbers are extrapolations, they can be considered a roug h indicator of the magnitude of the seabird by-catch by the small-scale lon g line fishery in Peru. Further research that includes onboard seabird by-c atch surveys as well as a larger sample of interviews with fishermen are re quired. Public awareness that encourages the implementation of by-catch det errence measures such as bird lines, night setting of hooks, and the use of fresh bait, will help reduce by-catch and bait loss, thus benefiting fishe rmen and promoting albatross conservation.