AFMA and the Commonwealth fishing industry are always looking for new and innovative ways to improve fisheries management, including reducing bycatch in Commonwealth managed fisheries.
To that end, AFMA has now approved a successful new seabird mitigation device known as a “bird baffler” for use in Australia’s southern trawl fisheries.
As the name suggests, a bird baffler works by deterring seabirds from hanging around fishing boats and preventing them from running into the trawl wires (warps).
The Bird baffler was developed as part of a project conducted by the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association (SETFIA) and the Great Australian Bight Fishing Industry Association (GABIA) to find ways to further decrease interactions between fishing gear and seabirds. This project was funded through the Australian Government’s innovation grants program.
GABIA’s Executive Officer, Mr Jeff Moore, explained that the project took industry to New Zealand to investigate mitigation measures. A forerunner of what is now known as ‘the baffler’ was selected as being the most promising.
“I think we are all surprised that the baffler, which is a simple device, has reduced interactions by more than 90 per cent compared to unprotected trawl wires,” Mr Moore said.
“This is great news and I look forward to seeing it used in boats across our fleet.”
With an increased interest from industry to improve operations through new or enhanced migration devices, this project provided the opportunity to test new devices before seeking AFMA approval for ongoing use when fishing.
AFMA’s Executive Manager of Fisheries, Dr Nick Rayns said that all proposed new devices must be tested at sea first before a decision is made to approve them or not.
“To help ensure minimal seabird interactions, AFMA has strict criteria that devices must meet before they are approved for day-to-day use,” Dr Rayns said.
“This helps to ensure not only a benchmark for marine mitigation but the safety of crew members.”
The trial was conducted during times of high seabird concentration to ensure the new devices clearly reduced seabird interactions. The ‘bird baffler’ trial results have been assessed and meet the criteria of AFMA’s, Guide to Developing New Seabird Mitigation Devices in Trawl Fisheries. By meeting those criteria, the ‘bird baffler’ device has been significantly proven to be an improvement over existing mitigation measures, and a substantial step forward for the trawl industry.
If you have a design for a seabird mitigation device and want to put it to the test, please contact the AFMA Bycatch and Discard Section on (02) 6225 5555.