Defining high-risk areas in the Argentinean continental shelf: at-sea distribution of Black-browed albatrosses and overlapping with longline and trawl fleets

SOFÍA COPELLO; JUAN PABLO SECO PON; MARCO FAVERO

Conferencia; 5th International Albatross and Petrel Conference; 2012

Fisheries are one of the most important threats affecting the survival of most albatrosses and petrels species around the globe and mortality in fisheries has already been characterised in the Argentinean commercial longline and trawl fisheries. The main objective of this project is to conduct an analysis of the interactions between Black-browed albatrosses with fisheries operating in Patagonian Shelf waters in order to develop a comprehensive model to define areas of high risk, and spatio-temporally predict their interactions over the Patagonian Shelf. We deployed satellite transmitters on black-browed albatrosses during the non-breeding period. Birds were capture at-sea in winter 2011. The at-sea distribution of tracked birds was overlapped with data obtained through the Argentinean Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). A total of 2,965 fixes was obtained over four months during the non-breeding season. The birds were distributed over the Patagonian Shelf reaching waters off Uruguay and southern Brazil, ranging from the 30° to 52°S and from high seas (48°E) to neritic waters. A kernel analysis showed core distribution areas located at the mouth of Río de la Plata, El Rincón and shelf break near Malvinas Islands and Península Valdes. Albatross distribution showed a high spatio-temporal overlap with longliners as well as with trawlers. Besides the development and implementation of conservation measures for the use of mitigation in the fisheries under study, a comprehensive modelling of distribution and overlap may help in designing the spatial use of the Patagonian shelf in order to minimise interactions between seabirds and fisheries.