Mortality can also be reduced by adding weight to longlines to expedite sink rates, and by setting longlines deep underwater through a tube. The latter method is relatively new and is still in the formative stages of development, but promises to be the best option to date, because underwater setting eliminates the visual cues that seabirds rely on to take bait. Albatross feed frantically on processed fish expelled from the boat During line hauling operations discharging offal from processes fish on the opposite side of vessels to the line hauling side greatly reduces the incidence of seabird capture because birds congregate elsewhere, not in the area where longlines leave the water. The setting of longlines at night with effective streamer lines in use and weights near hooks would almost certainly reduce seabird mortality to levels that are safe for most seabird species. Unfortunately most fisheries have shown reluctance to embrace wholeheartedly effective mitigation which has meant that other actions have been necessary.
Several initiatives exist.
In effect, this requests that nations assess the extent of the problem, adopt standard mitigation measures as an interim measure, conduct research into mitigation practices by fishery type, adopt independent observer programs and include seabird conservation provisions in fisheries management legislation. The terms of the Agreement apply to nations with longline fisheries and to distant water fishing nations that interact with albatrosses and petrels while fishing. Parties to the ACAP will be obliged to achieve and maintain the favourable conservation status of albatrosses in both terrestrial and marine environments. While the development of mitigation practices and agreements designed to protect seabirds in longline fisheries are laudable objectives, currently there is no fix-all mitigation device or practice and voluntary compliance with the conventional mitigation practices is unlikely to be successful. Seabird conservation does not fit well with the culture and practice of longline fishing, and to achieve seabird conservation objectives it will be necessary for nations to not only meet fully the requirements of the FAO's request but to enshrine the protection of seabirds in fisheries management legislation, including the provision for punitive action against violators of conservation measures.