Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285:reg:3:p13
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 13/26)
Character Range: 105068–108213

further reduce bycatch rates (FRDC 2020).
For Australian longline fisheries in the sub-Antarctic at Macquarie Island, and Heard Island and McDonald Islands, additional management measures are implemented by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority to protect local breeding populations of seabirds. These measures include, but are not limited to, seasonal closures during the peak breeding season (for species breeding during the Austral summer), seabird bycatch limits, internally weighted longlines, retention of offal, and on-board observers of fishing operations. The additional measures have led to very few seabirds now being bycaught in the two fisheries.

Contrastingly, a significant threat remains in areas beyond Australia's jurisdiction (Phillips et al. 2016, Abraham et al. 2019). As well, the distribution of some albatrosses and petrels breeding in Australia's jurisdiction overlaps extensively with longline fisheries in areas beyond Australia's jurisdiction (Birdlife International 2004). Compliance with mitigation measures remains a key issue as non-compliance leads to significant increases in seabird bycatch.
A key mechanism for promoting and ensuring compliance in high seas fisheries is through independent monitoring of fishing operations. However, for many of the world's fisheries, observer coverage is either non-existent or falls below levels required to estimate seabird bycatch levels accurately (Dietrich et al. 2004, Small 2005, Baker et al. 2007). The use of electronic monitoring systems that employ cameras to independently monitor fishing operations, show potential in improving reporting of seabird bycatch by vessel operators (Tremblay-Boyer & Abraham 2020). However, the utility of electronic monitoring in high seas fisheries is unclear, as fishing vessels may be absent from home ports for extended periods, and the retrieval and audits of footage may be considerably delayed.
According to circumstance, a range of mitigation measures have been developed to reduce the incidental catch of seabirds in longline fisheries (Brothers et al. 1999, Dietrich et al. 2004, Bull 2007). They include night setting, line weighting, bird scaring lines, seasonal and/or area closures, avoidance or control of offal discharges, and hook shielding devices (Commonwealth of Australia 2018b, ACAP 2021a, 2021c). The mitigation measures reduce bycatch mainly during setting, by increasing the sink rate of baited hooks to get them quickly out of the reach of diving seabirds, and by minimising the congregation of seabirds around vessels. Innovation in seabird bycatch mitigation in longline fisheries is ongoing (for example, Robertson et al. 2014).
Each measure has different attributes, costs and potential to reduce seabird catch successfully. However, in most longline fisheries, the greatest reduction in bycatch comes from using a combination of measures. Some measures, such as night setting and line weighting, have been consistently successful in a number of longline fisheries, while the effectiveness of others has varied between vessels and seabird species (ACAP 2021a, 2012c).
Trawl fishing operations