Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285:reg:3:p12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L01285
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 12/26)
Character Range: 102286–105371

methods for trawl, purse seine and gillnet fisheries, but this is less advanced than longline fisheries (FAO 2009, Maree et al. 2014, Parker & Molloy 2017, Suazo et al. 2017, ACAP 2019c). Challenges remain in encouraging various international fisheries management bodies to adopt best and improving mitigation technologies and techniques and verify compliance (Phillips et al. 2016, ACAP 2019a).
Longline fishing operations
Longline fishing involves the setting and hauling of one or more lines (mainline) that contain many individual hooks on branch lines (or snoods). The mainline can either be anchored or drifting, oriented vertically or horizontally, and varies considerably in length and number of hooks. Longline fishing can be pelagic (set midwater) or demersal (set on the seabed).
Longline fishing still is a major threat affecting albatrosses and petrels because of the high level of incidental mortality (Yeh et al. 2013). Each year, many thousands of albatrosses and petrels are accidentally killed on hooks deployed by pelagic longline fishing vessels (Baker et al. 2002). In demersal longline operations, where hooks are deployed at a much faster speed and are attached to shorter snoods than in the pelagic operations, seabirds get caught by the fast-descending hooks or entangled in branchlines when chasing after bait (Robertson et al. 2006). Although most mortality occurs directly when birds are caught during line-setting and, less commonly, hauling, albatrosses and petrels may also die after they are released with critical injuries (Huin & Croxall 1996), or following ingestion of fishing hooks when birds swallow discarded baits and fish heads containing hooks. In most cases, the death of breeding adults will lead to the subsequent death of dependent chicks.
All species of albatross and petrel breeding in Australia's jurisdiction may be bycaught during longline fishing operations (Thiers et al. 2014, Thiebot et al. 2015, Phillips et al. 2016). The implementation of successive Threat Abatement Plans for the incidental catch (or bycatch) of seabirds during oceanic longline fishing operations have significantly reduced seabird bycatch in Commonwealth-managed fisheries (Commonwealth of Australia 2018b).
The Threat Abatement Plan establishes performance criteria for each Commonwealth-managed longline fishery, and describes the management actions that the Australian Fisheries Management Authority will take if these criteria are exceeded. The plan highlights that to continue the downward trend and minimise or avoid bycatch, further innovation in mitigation will be necessary (Commonwealth of Australia 2018b). For example, in the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery trials are underway of several new and/or modified seabird mitigation measures to 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.