Chilean Delegation participated in the Albatrosses and Petrels Conservation meeting held in Brazil
May 28th, 2019
In Florianopolis, Brazil, Secondary Capture Working Group ninth meeting (SBWG9) and the Stocks and Conservation Status Working Group fifth meeting (PaCSWG5) were held, both working groups belonging to the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels Agreement (ACAP).
International meeting twich aims to share twork and researchresults, to review some regulations and procedures as well as plans and programs, ad also to begin the for the eleventh meeting of the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels Agreement advisory committee preparation(ACAP).
The national delegation was represented by Marcelo García professional fromSubsecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) Conservation and Biodiversity Unit, Luis Adasme from Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP),Cristián Suazo from ATF Chile, both members of SBWG, as well as Verónica López (NGO Oikonos) PaCSWG member .
During the meeting about 50 members participated among secondary capture working group official members , as well as agreement,group observers such as Japan, United States, China.
Marcelo García from Fisheries Undersecretary highlighted the meeting’s progress in of advice matters over mitigation measures and good practices, certifications and seabird bycatch risk assessments , all high interest matters to Chile in its application path on its fisheries management ecosystemic approach . The professional highlighted Chile’s progress in controlling the use of mitigation measures through on-board cameras monitoring operation and its plans to reduce our fisheries discarding and incidental capture , and the Working Groupsmembers in tmitigation measures search, as well as in the advice provided by this agreement to tOROPS.
Luis Adasme, professional from IFOP Fisheries Evaluation Department, said that ” Knowledge exchange with other researchers in the field and learning about bycatch mitigation advances and best practices in relation to seabirds bycatch, are valuable opportunities for Chile. On the other hand, these instances allow us to show the work and advances achieved by our country in this research line that is in direct coherence with the ecosystemic approach currently promoted by Fisheries Law (LGP) “.
Cristian Suazo, Albatross Task Force coordinator – Chile (ATF-Chile) from Bird Life International, outlined team’s experiences progress made in mitigation measures research and development to contribute to seabirds incidental capture reduction such as fardellas.
Verónica López Oikonos Ecosystem NGO Project Manager in Chile who has worked for more than 10 years with white pearl (Ardenna creatopus), a species that belongs to this agreement, commented “White pearl only reproduces in our country, but it has a long Migration to Canada every year during Chilean winter This agreement is very useful for this highly migratory species, since it allows us to share information between countries, recognize areas where there are risks of bycatch and work together to investigate and try to reduce these threats. ”
The exclusive economic zone of Chile covers a considerable section of the Humboldt Current, which represents one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world and an important feeding area for 15 species of albatrosses and petrels included in the ACAP. Also, under its jurisdiction it has several breeding sites of global relevance, which comprise 21% of the world population of black-browed albatrosses.