A Seabird Guide for Fishermen prepared by the EU LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project team has been adopted as the basis for an international poster for fishermen following its presentation during an international meeting in Madrid last week.

Ray Caruana from the Malta Centre for Fisheries Sciences (MCFS) presented the guide to the participants together with an important paper on the accidental by-catch of seabirds in Maltese waters by MCFS science staff.

The paper is one of the first of its kind in the Mediterranean, and was warmly received by the international delegates at a sub-committee meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) on behalf of MCFS and the Yelkouan Shearwater Project.

The project, being carried out in partnership between government authorities, international conservation organisations and BirdLife Malta, is aimed at reducing the number of shearwaters that are accidentally caught by fishermen.

Mr Caruana explained: “I presented the initial results of a questionnaire to fishermen, which was carried out earlier this year.

“It indicated that a number of shearwaters may be being caught by accident and this reduces fishing efficiency, so throughout the project we will be collecting more data on by-catch and we will be working with the fishing community to try reducing it. The Seabird Guide will help the fishermen identify the birds they find at sea.”

Seabird by-catch is a serious threat to bird populations across the world. Since Malta has around 10 per cent of the world’s population of Yelkouan Shearwaters and five per cent of Cory’s Shearwaters, project partners are taking seriously trying to understand and deal with this threat.

Fortunately, there are simple measures that fishermen can take to ensure that they catch fish rather than bird. These include the use of streamers to scare birds away and putting weights on fishing lines to ensure that they sink quickly out of the birds’ reach.

The project’s Seabird Guide for Fishermen explains what should be done if a bird is caught and therefore ensure better chances of survival. This leaflet is being distributed to the entire Maltese fishing fleet.

BirdLife Malta said the initial response from the fishing community to the project was very positive with the majority of fishermen indicating that they are interested in working with the project team to protect the birds and enhance fishing productivity.

Further information can be obtained from www.lifeshearwaterproject.org.mt.