Seabird and seal - fisheries interactions in the Australian Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides trawl fishery

From 1997 to 2000, contacts between seabirds and seals with fishing gear were recorded on two Australian trawlers operating around Macquarie Island (MI) and Heard and McDonald Islands (HIMI). Observers recorded contacts when any part of the body of a bird or seal touched any of the pre-defined contact points of the fishing gear. A total of 47042 and 148593 bird and seal sightings were made from fishing vessels at MI and at HIMI, respectively. Of 631 shots-hauls at MI, 263 shots and 344 hauls were observed, and 620 shots and 699 hauls of a total of 1324 shots-hauls were monitored at HIMI. Interactions or contacts occurred in 308 and 283 of observed shots and hauls, respectively,, at HIMI, at MI contacts between wildlife and fishing gear were noted in 58 and 124 of shots and hauls observed:. A total of 637 and 1696 contacts were observed at MI and at HIMI, respectively, of which 633 at MI and 1656 at HIMI did not incur any injuries. At MI, no deaths or serious injuries were reported other than the death of one southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) that may have died in the net. During shots at HIMI, four cape petrels (Daption capense) were reported to be injured seriously and one cape petrel and one giant petrel (Macronectes sp.) were killed. Another three cape petrels may have sustained serious injuries, two died and another two are likely to have died during hauls. The low numbers of serious incidences can probably be ascribed to the absence of a netsonde cable and other preventative measures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.