Seabird bycatch in Argentina: a text mining analysis of the national and international regulations tools

IWAN, A.; ARQUEROS, S.; ZULAICA, L.; COPELLO, S.

Conferencia; 3rd World Seabird Conference; 2021

The seabird bycatch rate has increased in the last decades due to the constant pressure on the resources, coupled with poor sustainable management, the rapid development of fisheries technologies and the lack of regulatory accompaniment. Incidental mortality in fisheries is one of the top threats to seabirds globally, making this group of birds the most endangered worldwide. Various technical contributions have been made to reduce incidental mortality. However, the fact that the problem continues, shows the need to delve into other factors, such as the social dimension and the importance of approaching it from other fields of knowledge. The objectives of the study were: 1) to compile the current regulations associated, directly or indirectly, with seabirds and their conservation, both at national and international scale and 2) to analyze through word clouds technique the most representative terms present in the regulations. A total of eight national laws and ten international treaties were compiled. The frequency of occurrence of words at the national scale was: national, enforcement, authority, fishing, federal, environmental, council and fishing. Regarding international treaties, the most frequent words were: convention, authority, conformity, zone, sea, measures, law and ships. The fact that words such as fauna, biodiversity, conservation or birds are not among the most commonly used terms in treaties and laws on the subject, highlights the approaches of these documents and the paradigms that underpin them. On the other hand, there is a marked presence of words such as authority, fishing and ships. By comparing the content of both bodies of documentation, as a preliminary result, it is observed a predominance of words associated with geopolitical issues and fishing as an economic activity rather than a comprehensive approach of cross-border fisheries management focused, as well, on the conservation of marine mega fauna.