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Abstract(s)
Fisheries have major impacts on seabirds, both by changing food availability and by causing direct mortality of birds during
trawling and longline setting. However, little is known about the nature and the spatial-temporal extent of the interactions
between individual birds and vessels. By studying a system in which we had fine-scale data on bird movements and activity,
and near real-time information on vessel distribution, we provide new insights on the association of a threatened albatross
with fisheries. During early chick-rearing, black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from two different colonies
(separated by only 75 km) showed significant differences in the degree of association with fisheries, despite being nearly
equidistant to the Falklands fishing fleet. Most foraging trips from either colony did not bring tracked individuals close to
vessels, and proportionally little time and foraging effort was spent near ships. Nevertheless, a few individuals repeatedly
visited fishing vessels, which may indicate they specialise on fisheries-linked food sources and so are potentially more
vulnerable to bycatch. The evidence suggests that this population has little reliance on fisheries discards at a critical stage of
its nesting cycle, and hence measures to limit fisheries waste on the Patagonian shelf that also reduce vessel attractiveness
and the risk of incidental mortality, would be of high overall conservation benefit.
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Citation
PLoS One, 6 (3), e17467