This is a very serious issue for New Zealand's considerable seabird
populations.

Forest and Bird New Zealand and I believe others in NZ have been
studying the impact on breeding seabirds.

You might also try Sandy Bartle, curator of Birds at the Wellington
Museum who can be faxed on +64-4-384-6035.  He was pictured in the
newspapers here recently with yet more bycatch albatrosses.

Good luck,
Mark Brazil
[log in to unmask]


>>> "Wanless,R,Ross,Mr,ADU" <[log in to unmask]>
8/August/1997 03:10pm >>>
I am researching the global impact of longline fisheries on seabirds.
At present I am simply gathering data on all the longline fisheries
around the world.  I would like the following information, preferably
broken down by fishery (target species) and by year:

1. Region of fishing activity
2. Number of countries and vessels actively fishing
3. Annual total fishing effort (i.e. number of hooks)
4. A measure of the total annual bycatch of birds (by species if
   possible)

I would very much appreciate any contacts at national and
international fishery agencies which would house such data, or advice
on where to find these in the literature.


Ross Wanless, Scientific Officer, World Seabird Conservation Project,
Avian Demography Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Phone:
+2721 6502330, Fax: +2721 650 3726, email: [log in to unmask]