Seabird Safe Toolkit

A new Seabird Safe Toolkit is available for fishermen in the UK to help reduce the risk of accidental catching of seabirds whilst fishing for their target catches. It makes it easier to support the objectives of the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative by giving fishermen the knowledge needed to act.

The Toolkit has been developed with skippers, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, with two versions – a guide for fishermen and a guide for regulators.

 

The Fisherman’s Toolkit will help you to:

– Identify seabird species in the UK and which ones are likely to be caught.

– Adapting management of offal (fish guts) and gear to reduce attraction to the vessel.

– The safe handling and releasing of caught seabirds.

 

The guidance covers offal (fish guts) management:

– Store in a covered container – the smell attracts seabirds.

– Ideally, dispose of offal onshore.

– If it must be disposed on sea, do not do so while fishing and dispose on the other side of the boat to where fishing is being done.

It also provides information for how to handle seabirds that have been caught on hooks as well as fully entangled seabirds.

 

Handling guide:

– If safe to do so, stop the engine and fish the bird out with a net or similar tool.

– Cover the bird in a towel, wear gloves and eye protection, and hold the beak closed ensuring not to cover the nostrils (gannets’ nostrils are inside the beak, place a pencil in the beak to allow for breathing).

 

For hooked birds:

– If the hook is visible and can be reached easily, cut off excess line and use bolt cutters to cut the barb off, before removing the hook by passing the non-barbed end through until it is released.

– If the hook is not easy to spot has likely been swallowed. Hold the mouth open and cut the excess line as close to hook as possible, leaving the hook in place, and do not pull the line and hook out.

For entangled birds:

– Cut the net around the bird and remove the bird backwards, in the direction it entered the net, and remove additional net pieces from the bird’s neck and feet.

 

– After either, give the bird time to recover in a dry protected area – ideally a ventilated box – and when the bird is standing and alert it can be released.

– Release the seabird by placing it gently on the water’s surface and allow it to drift or fly away from the vessel before restarting the engine. If water cannot be reached, place the bird on deck facing the wind and allow it to fly away.

 

It goes into further detail on difference species of seabirds with a specific species ID, the main culprits of seabird bycatch, what attracts them to fishing vessels and why, as well as various solutions to decrease interactions with fishermen.

This guidance supports safer and sustainable fishing practices for both crews and seabirds.

To learn more, see: www.cleancatchuk.com/seabird-safe-toolkits-for-fishermen-and-regulators