Náttúrufræðingurinn - 2002, Blaðsíða 60

Náttúrufræðingurinn
fyrir að fylar drepist við línu-
veiðar.
Aðgerðir til að draga úr fugla-
dauða í veiðarfærum. Lagt er til
að yfirvöld láti skoða hvaða að-
ferðir hafa verið þróaðar erlend-
is til þess að draga úr fugla-
dauða í veiðarfærum, sbr.
nýlega samantekt þar um (sjá
Brothers, Cooper og Lokkeborg
1999). Einnig kann að vera nauð-
synlegt að gera ákveðnar til-
raunir til þess að fá hnitmiðaðri
upplýsingar sem eiga við hér-
lendis. Taka þarf saman niður-
stöður slíkrar könnunar og
dreifa til útgerðar- og sjómanna í
samvinnu við samtök þeirra.
SUMMARY
Seabird bycatch in fishing gear in
Iceland
An overview is given of the issue of
bycatch of seabirds in Icelandic waters,
more detailed than presented earlier (see
Ævar Petersen 1998a). A systematic sur-
vey has not been carried out of this
mortality factor in the Icelandic fisheries
in general. Representative data need to
be compiled on, for instance, the bird
species affected, the type of fishing gear
involved, the spatial and temporal distri-
bution of bycatch and, most importantly,
whether incidental take in fishing gear
affects the bird populations. Whatever
the result, this is also an animal welfare
issue, as drowning in nets or getting
hooked cannot be seen as humane
methods of killing birds. Furthermore,
bycatch is to a large extent both wasteful
and unnecessary (cf. Fig. 1).
Icelandic environmental and fishery
authorities have been urged to consider
bycatch as a serious conservation prob-
lem. It is pointed out that FAO has issued
a plan of action to reduce seabird
bycatch in longline fisheries (FAO 1995,
1998, 1999). The Arctic Council working
group CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora
and Fauna) has considered bycatch a
significant source of mortality in Arctic
seabirds. In the North Atlantic bycatch in
nets is considered more serious than
longline (Bakken & Falk 1998). Assessing
and reducing mortality of murres (Uria
spp.) in commercial fishing gear is an
action item of the lnternational Murre
Conservation Strategy and Action Plan
(CAFF 1996), which all the Arctic coun-
tries have endorsed.
Four surveys have been carried out
on incidental take in individual bird
species and the impact of this on their
populations. All these surveys related
only to Lumpsucker fishing nets and/or
only a small part of the respective bird
populations. Two of them dealt with the
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle (Ævar
Petersen 1981, Frederiksen & Ævar Pet-
ersen 1999). The other two were aimed at
the Common Eider Somateria mollissima,
although one of these also included all
other birds caught (Ævar Petersen & Jón
Guðmundsson ms, Vilhjámur Þorsteins-
son & Guðrún Marteinsdóttir 1992).
None of these surveys could show signi-
ficant influences of bycatch on the
respective bird populations.
Other sources of information on the
bycatch issue in Iceland include data
from the Icelandic Bird Ringing Scheme
(cf. Ævar Petersen 1998a) and the sci-
entific bird skin collection, both at the
Icelandic Institute of Natural History.
Other sources are the sale (illegal) of
bycaught birds at fish markets (cf. Ævar
Petersen 1998a), official reports from the
Lumpsucker fishery (not required any
more) and incidental information from
newspapers and other informal sources.
Examples of incidental take are nu-
merous in Iceland. Some of the most
exceptional ones include 10000 alcids
killed in 24 hours off Grimsey island in
1990. In April 2001 one fishing vessel
caught 8000 alcids in nets in 24 hours in
Faxaflói Bay. However, bycatch is very
variable according to type of fishing
gear, time of year and region (Fig. 2).
Probably the most important fishing
gear in this respect are cod nets,
Lumpsucker nets and longline, although
various other gear has been registered in
bird recoveries of the Icelandic Bird
Ringing Scheme and in the scientific bird
collection at the Icelandic Institute of
Natural History (Tabs. 1-3).
In 1997 as many as 70 thousand mur-
res (mostly Common Murre Uria aalge)
were estimated killed annually in nets,
Common Murre being by far the most
common species (Guðmundur A. Guð-
mundsson, Ævar Petersen & Arnþór
Garðarsson 1997). Thousands if not tens
of thousands Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis
have been estimated killed in the
Icelandic longline fishery (Dunn & Steel
2001). Somewhere between 100 and 200
thousand seabirds are estimated killed
in fishing gear from the Icelandic fleet
each year, possibly more. Altogether, 20
seabird species have been registered
from fishing gear.
It is suggested as a start that an over-
all status report of the bycatch issue in
Icelandic waters be compiled. More con-
centrated studies are needed of (1) the
alcids (especially Common Murre,
Thick-billed Murre and Razorbill Alca
torda), (2) Red-throated Loon Gavia stella-
ta and Common Loon G. immer, (3) Great
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo and Shag
P. aristotelis, (4) continued research on
Black Guillemot, (5) a repeated survey of
Common Eiders, and (6) Fulmar. A
compilation of mitigation measures with
particular reference to Iceland is also
required, leading to cooperation with the
fishery industry in solving, or at least
reducing, the bycatch problem in
Icelandic fisheries.
Þakkir
Sverrir Thorstensen og Sólveig Bergs lásu greinina í handriti og færðu
margt til betri vegar. Þeim eru færðar þakkir fyrir.
HEIMILDIR
Arnþór Garðarsson 1961. Fugladauði af völdum netja í Mývatni. Nátt-
úrufræðingurinn 31. 145-168.
Arnþór Garðarsson 1979. Skarfatal 1975. Náttúrufræðingurinn 49. 126-
154.
Arnþór Garðarsson 1996. Dílaskarfsbyggðir 1975-1994. Bliki 17. 35-42.
Arnþór Garðarsson 1999. Fjöldi og viðkoma dílaskarfs. Veiðistjóraemb-
ættið. Veiðidagbók 1999. 10-12.
Asbirk, Sv L. Berg, G. Hardeng, P. Koskimies & Ævar Petersen 1997.
Population sizes and recent trends in the Nordic countries 1978-
1994. TemaNord 1997: 614. Nordisk Ministerrád. 88 bls.
Bakken, V. & K. Falk (ritstj.) 1998. Incidental Take of Seabirds in
Commercial Fisheries in the Arctic Countries. CAFF Technical
Report no. 1. v+50 bls.
BirdLife Int. 1995. Global impacts of fisheries on seabirds. BirdLife Int.
27 bls.
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