Warp deflectors, commonly known as ‘pinkies’, are effective in reducing seabird interactions with trawl warp wires by 75 per cent according to the results in the report Assessing the Effectiveness of Seabird Mitigation Devices in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery of Australia.
The report examined the effectiveness over a two year period of two devices in reducing seabird interactions with trawl warp wires:
- warp deflectors (pinkies) – a plastic “pinkie” buoy that is attached to the trawl warp by a clip and connected back to the vessel on a rope
- warp scarers – a rope interlaced with semi-stiff streamers that is clipped onto the trawl warp.
Nine trawl boats participated in the trial in the Great Australian Bight and Commonwealth Trawl Sectors of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery. A total of 124 trawl shots were observed to assess how well the mitigation devices worked. The trial was conducted in areas of high seabird concentration to ensure there was robust information on the effectiveness of each mitigation device.
Seabird warp deflectors (pinkies) in action
Results from the trial showed that pinkies were most effective at reducing seabird interactions with warp wires while warp scarers had only limited success.
The trial also highlighted when seabirds were not at risk. No seabirds were observed interacting with the net itself because the net sinks rapidly and spends very little time on the surface. Importantly, only two heavy seabird interactions occurred at night, suggesting that trawling outside of daylight hours reduces the likelihood of seabird interactions compared to trawling during the day.
The information from the trial is allowing AFMA and fishers to improve existing practices including:
- increasing pinkie size from 400 mm to 600 mm diameter (the size used in the trial)
- removing the requirement to use physical mitigation at night
- removing the warp scarer as an approved mitigation device
- reviewing all Seabird Management Plans in the Great Australia Bight and Commonwealth Trawl Sectors
- applying effective penalties for vessels that are not complying with their seabird management obligations.
Download the full report:
- Effectiveness of Seabird Mitigation Devices – report summary (PDF, 390 KB)
- Effectiveness of Seabird Mitigation Devices – full report (PDF, 841 KB)
See also the AFMA seabird ID guide.