Biologging to inform Prevention of Seabird Bycatch

As the global footprint of fisheries increases to match market demands, interactions between seabirds and vessels become more frequent leading to scavenging opportunities for many species, but also increase bycatch risk.

Many seabird populations are in rapid decline, and bycatch in fishing gears has been identified as a leading cause.BioPSy is a global project, where the candidate will develop skills pertinent to seabird bycatch prevention in New Zealand, a country with an internationally recognised track record in applied conservation and seabird bycatch management.

On the return phase, these skills will be applied to areas of Europe with severe seabird bycatch issues and little to no legislated corrective measures.

Cutting-edge analyses will be developed and applied to seabird biologging data to design effective seabird bycatch prevention measures (SBPMs).

BioPSy relies on stakeholder engagement for experimental design, with engagement skills and implementation focal point of the training program.New Zealand’s open fisheries practices and extensive observer data will be reviewed for SBPMs used, bycatch rates per hooks set, and efficacy of current SBPMs then estimated.

Individuals of at-risk seabird species will be tagged with biotelemetry devices that record depth, location, and acceleration when at sea.

This will reveal behaviour around vessels in the presence/absence of SBPMs, how deep birds dive to scavenge, and how this interacts with light availability.

These behaviours will be placed in the context of current SBPM efficacy, and recommendations to improve SBPMs communicated to key stakeholders.The candidate will bring insights gained in New Zealand back to Europe, where observer coverage of fisheries most prone to seabird bycatch is minimal.

The transferability of using biologging techniques to design SBPMs will be tested in a system with fewer sources of observer data, and practicable SBPMs recommended to policy makers.