'Unacceptable': Hundreds of tītī killed in trawler catch
The native tītī or sooty shearwater is native to New Zealand and classified as at risk/declining. Photo: Wiki Commons
More than 200 seabirds were accidentally caught and killed by a fishing trawler in Te Waewae Bay in Southland earlier this year.
Forest & Bird is demanding more information from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) about the 207 deaths, published in MPI's quarterly bycatch report for January to March.
The birds were adult tītī sooty shearwaters, which are native to New Zealand and classified as at risk/declining.
Forest & Bird's regional conservation manager for Otago and Southland Chelsea McGaw said the birds were likely to have been foraging at sea to feed their chicks, which likely starved to death.
"The scale of bycatch is unacceptable and right now, it's failing our wildlife," she said.
"It is a sobering thought that catches like this are not illegal, as long as they are reported."
Forest & Bird said it wanted to know what the ministry and commercial trawl fisheries were doing to prevent a repeat of similar deaths in future.
McGaw said it should be considered a warning sign.
"A trawler that can kill this many tītī in one go could easily wipe out other threatened or at-risk seabirds, like the toroa Antipodean albatross. We need mandatory, enforceable rules that include effective bird scaring devices and fish waste management," she said.
MPI's bycatch quarterly report showed 1083 seabirds and protected marine species accidentally were captured by fishing vessels between January to March. Of those, 771 died.
In other instances, 18 leatherback turtles were killed by a vessel off the coast of Auckland, 17 fur seals were killed by a boat in the Southeast region, and 45 "unidentified" petrels, prions or shearwaters were killed in one instance off the coast of Auckland.
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Otago Daily Times
4 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Devastating': Hundreds of birds caught by trawler
A single fishing vessel hauled in 207 seabirds in one "devastating" go while trawling off Southland's coast earlier this year, Forest & Bird revealed yesterday. Forest & Bird Otago-Southland regional conservation manager Chelsea McGaw said 207 adult sooty shearwaters (tītī) were captured near Te Waewae Bay between January 1 and March 31 — right in the middle of the bird's breeding season. While the birds did number in the millions, their numbers were declining and their nesting sites were considered a "critically endangered ecosystem" on mainland New Zealand. There were four colonies of the birds on the mainland — one near Sandfly Bay, at Otago Peninsula (where 72 chicks fledged this year), one at St Clair, one at Long Point (Irahuka) in the Catlins and one in Bluff. It was possible some of the birds caught were from a mainland site and a "high majority" of the birds caught by the fishing vessel would have had chicks in their nests at the time that now would have died as a result, Ms McGaw said. The capture would have had "cascading effects" on colonies and captures such as this one needed to be avoided. "When you're fishing, you're there to catch fish, right? "And dragging out 207 seabirds, that's just insane to me. "Just the fact that one single trawl has hauled up 207 seabirds in one go is pretty devastating." It was "sobering" catches such as this were not illegal, as long as they were reported. She called on the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to urgently review and strengthen seabird bycatch mitigation in trawl fisheries. "Unlike in surface longline fisheries, where international best practice (three out of three mitigation measures) is now in place, trawl fisheries still rely on inconsistent voluntary measures." Fisheries New Zealand fisheries management director Emma Taylor said the bycatch had been included in MPI's quarterly bycatch data. A New Zealand-based commercial fishing vessel operating off the south coast of the South Island had reported the accidental catch of 207 sooty shearwaters in February. The vessel was operating an onboard camera, and footage of the capture was reviewed by Fisheries New Zealand. "The vessel was also using mitigation measures, including batch waste disposal during towing," she said. "For your information, the total population of sooty shearwaters has been estimated to be about 21million birds. "No fisher wants to catch seabirds, but it is not illegal to accidentally catch them." The fisher took the steps required following the capture, reported the incident to Fisheries New Zealand and notified a Department of Conservation protected species liaison officer. Fisheries New Zealand staff also met commercial fishers in the region to discuss the incident. "We provided information about operational measures they could take to reduce the likelihood of further bycatch events in the area, including avoiding the area of the capture, and ensuring appropriate mitigation measures were being used." Seafood New Zealand inshore general manager Tiff Bock said the industry body was concerned about the loss of birdlife. "It is no exaggeration to say it has a serious impact on the fisher, who is really upset about what happened. "We find ourselves agreeing with Forest & Bird that a one-off capture event like this is devastating. "We hate to see birds harmed. "In this case, we can reassure you that the fisher was doing everything he was supposed to be doing in terms of location and procedures to avoid bird interactions. "The muttonbirds [tītī] congregated around the vessel en masse after the fishing gear was in the water, leaving him with nothing he could practically do." Since the incident, Seafood New Zealand had organised an event to get all the local fishers together to discuss protecting seabirds and mammals "and they agreed to a range of measures including avoiding some areas", Ms Bock said. The latest data from MPI showed 98% of the time a commercial net or line or other device was put in the water there was "no interaction with a protected marine mammal or bird".
Otago Daily Times
14 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Hundreds of birds caught at once
A single fishing vessel hauled in 207 seabirds in one "devastating" go while trawling off Southland's coast earlier this year, Forest & Bird revealed yesterday. Forest & Bird Otago-Southland regional conservation manager Chelsea McGaw said 207 adult sooty shearwaters (tītī) were captured near Te Waewae Bay between January 1 and March 31 — right in the middle of the bird's breeding season. While the birds did number in the millions, their numbers were declining and their nesting sites were considered a "critically endangered ecosystem" on mainland New Zealand. There were four colonies of the birds on the mainland — one near Sandfly Bay, at Otago Peninsula (where 72 chicks fledged this year), one at St Clair, one at Long Point (Irahuka) in the Catlins and one in Bluff. It was possible some of the birds caught were from a mainland site and a "high majority" of the birds caught by the fishing vessel would have had chicks in their nests at the time that now would have died as a result, Ms McGaw said. The capture would have had "cascading effects" on colonies and captures such as this one needed to be avoided. "When you're fishing, you're there to catch fish, right? "And dragging out 207 seabirds, that's just insane to me. "Just the fact that one single trawl has hauled up 207 seabirds in one go is pretty devastating." It was "sobering" catches such as this were not illegal, as long as they were reported. She called on the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to urgently review and strengthen seabird bycatch mitigation in trawl fisheries. "Unlike in surface longline fisheries, where international best practice (three out of three mitigation measures) is now in place, trawl fisheries still rely on inconsistent voluntary measures." Fisheries New Zealand fisheries management director Emma Taylor said the bycatch had been included in MPI's quarterly bycatch data. A New Zealand-based commercial fishing vessel operating off the south coast of the South Island had reported the accidental catch of 207 sooty shearwaters in February. The vessel was operating an onboard camera, and footage of the capture was reviewed by Fisheries New Zealand. "The vessel was also using mitigation measures, including batch waste disposal during towing," she said. "For your information, the total population of sooty shearwaters has been estimated to be about 21million birds. "No fisher wants to catch seabirds, but it is not illegal to accidentally catch them." The fisher took the steps required following the capture, reported the incident to Fisheries New Zealand and notified a Department of Conservation protected species liaison officer. Fisheries New Zealand staff also met commercial fishers in the region to discuss the incident. "We provided information about operational measures they could take to reduce the likelihood of further bycatch events in the area, including avoiding the area of the capture, and ensuring appropriate mitigation measures were being used." Seafood New Zealand inshore general manager Tiff Bock said the industry body was concerned about the loss of birdlife. "It is no exaggeration to say it has a serious impact on the fisher, who is really upset about what happened. "We find ourselves agreeing with Forest & Bird that a one-off capture event like this is devastating. "We hate to see birds harmed. "In this case, we can reassure you that the fisher was doing everything he was supposed to be doing in terms of location and procedures to avoid bird interactions. "The muttonbirds [tītī] congregated around the vessel en masse after the fishing gear was in the water, leaving him with nothing he could practically do." Since the incident, Seafood New Zealand had organised an event to get all the local fishers together to discuss protecting seabirds and mammals "and they agreed to a range of measures including avoiding some areas", Ms Bock said. The latest data from MPI showed 98% of the time a commercial net or line or other device was put in the water there was "no interaction with a protected marine mammal or bird".
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Unacceptable': Hundreds of tītī killed in trawler catch
The native tītī or sooty shearwater is native to New Zealand and classified as at risk/declining. Photo: Wiki Commons More than 200 seabirds were accidentally caught and killed by a fishing trawler in Te Waewae Bay in Southland earlier this year. Forest & Bird is demanding more information from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) about the 207 deaths, published in MPI's quarterly bycatch report for January to March. The birds were adult tītī sooty shearwaters, which are native to New Zealand and classified as at risk/declining. Forest & Bird's regional conservation manager for Otago and Southland Chelsea McGaw said the birds were likely to have been foraging at sea to feed their chicks, which likely starved to death. "The scale of bycatch is unacceptable and right now, it's failing our wildlife," she said. "It is a sobering thought that catches like this are not illegal, as long as they are reported." Forest & Bird said it wanted to know what the ministry and commercial trawl fisheries were doing to prevent a repeat of similar deaths in future. McGaw said it should be considered a warning sign. "A trawler that can kill this many tītī in one go could easily wipe out other threatened or at-risk seabirds, like the toroa Antipodean albatross. We need mandatory, enforceable rules that include effective bird scaring devices and fish waste management," she said. MPI's bycatch quarterly report showed 1083 seabirds and protected marine species accidentally were captured by fishing vessels between January to March. Of those, 771 died. In other instances, 18 leatherback turtles were killed by a vessel off the coast of Auckland, 17 fur seals were killed by a boat in the Southeast region, and 45 "unidentified" petrels, prions or shearwaters were killed in one instance off the coast of Auckland.
