The Northwest Hawaiian Islands are the world's most important nesting area for black-footed and Laysan albatross. The closure should be year-round and not seasonal because the time period of chick care, when parental duties limit the distances adults can fly from breeding sites, coincides with the time when commercial pelagic finfish are present. Thus, longliners would only want to fish in these waters proximate to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands when seabirds are rearing chicks and foraging nearshore. This restriction would not effect fishing capacity, but would relocate fishing effort further offshore. Employment of this measure can be easily enforced using VMS and education.
Most seabird species killed by longline vessels are active during the day.
The deck lighting on vessels can attract birds during night setting and should be minimized while still ensuring the safety of the crew. Because some seabird species interact with longliner vessels at night and remain at risk of being killed on baited hooks, compliance with this night setting mitigation measure does not eliminate the need to employ the other mitigation measures. Employment of this measure can be enforced using a combination of VMS, education, and if necessary, a sensor that detects use of the line spool for line setting and hauling. Require longline fishers to use a properly constructed and set tori line when fishing in waters where seabirds are known to be caught on longline hooks. A bird line properly suspended over the water above the area where bait is being set deters birds from entering the area to dive and forage on baited hooks.