Marine debris ingestion by Southern Giant Petrels and its potential relationships with fisheries in the Southern Atlantic Ocean

COPELLO, S.; QUINTANA, F.

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

Elsevier

Año: 2003 vol. 46 p. 1513 - 1515

0025-326X

The Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) is a wide ranging procellariform which breeds in the coasts of Patagonia and forages throughout the Argentine continental shelf and which often interacts with fisheries activities. Little is known  about their diet and their extent of marine debris ingestion. Here we evaluate the presence of marine debris in the diet of Southern Giant Petrels chicks at a colony on the Patagonian coast. A total of 73 food samples were taken from randomly-selected chicks. Seventy three percent of food samples (n = 73) contained marine debris. Plastics were by far the most frequent item (FO = 66%), followed by plastic line (36%) and vegetables (34%). Other items such as aluminum foil, wood, paper and others were less frequent (less than 15%). Although we were not able to identified the sources of the marine debris recorded in diet samples of Southern Giant Petrel chicks, it is very likely that they derive from fishing activities. Our study clearly demonstrates an association between these birds and high seas fisheries, most likely trawl vessels. The extent and consequences of this association will required further study in order to assess the costs of marine debris ingestion against the benefits of an alternative food supply in the form of fisheries waste.