Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775:reg:18:p10
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00775
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 18 (pt 10/152)
Character Range: 66610–69775

that can minimise bycatch, and improvements and novel approaches are still being researched. Although some approaches are widely advocated, none is 100 per cent effective in isolation. There is extensive variation in operational and gear characteristics among fisheries, and they may overlap with different assemblages of seabirds which vary in susceptibility to capture. Consequently, mitigation needs to be tailored carefully, and if introduced in combination with close monitoring of compliance has been very effective (Phillips et al. 2016).
Further information on mitigation devices can be reviewed here: https://www.afma.gov.au/sustainability-environment/bycatch-discarding/  bycatch-reduction-devices.

26 Wildlife Conservation Plan for Seabirds

Threats

Prey depletion
Long-term demographic studies show that seabird populations may suffer from competition with fisheries (Bertrand et al 2012; Grémillet et al. 2018). Tuna fisheries are thought to have reduced prey availably for a number of procellariforms as many species rely on tuna to herd shoals of small fish to the surface where they become available for surface-feeding birds (Au et al. 1986; Furness 2003; Brooke 2004). Harvesting of marine resources can affect marine ecosystems and predator-prey interactions by the removal or redistribution of biomass central to pelagic food webs. In particular, fisheries targeting forage fish and euphausiids may be in competition with seabirds for food resources. Understanding this process is critical for the implementation of a whole of ecosystem approach to fisheries management.
Resource extraction
The effects of terrestrial mining can be profound and have direct consequences on seabirds and their habitats, or indirect impacts via disturbance or pollution. Guano mining in the 19th and 20th Centuries led to the human colonisation of many seabird breeding islands for so called 'white gold'. Important island habitats were severely modified to fuel the demand for the highly effective fertilizer. Colonisation also spread invasive species which helped accelerate seabird declines on some islands. Even today, some historical guano mines have yet to recover from mining activities and will take hundreds of years to recover fully, if at all.
Whilst the impacts of tailings storage facilities mainly affect waterfowl and passerines, better knowledge of tailings dam ecology is required to develop site-specific monitoring and mitigation to better understand risks posed to wildlife, including seabirds (Smith et al. 2008). Solar-powered floating deterrent beacons with sonic guns have been trialled at ponds to deter species such as gulls and terns and some shorebirds (Read 1999). The Australian Government recommends monitoring of wildlife impacts and reducing the risks associated with the storage of water on tailings storage facilities, which could involve perimeter fencing, minimising the area of ponded water, netting or intermittent noise to distract birds (Commonwealth of Australia 2016).
The recently discovered breeding sites of Tahiti Petrel (Pseudobulweria rostrata) in New Caledonia are all in areas threatened by nickel