Hi folks,

I thought that some on the list might be interested in the following
forwarded message. It is immediately relevant to our birding that
the fishing agencies and their regulators are addressing the incidental
catches of seabirds in the NE Pacific.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 10:21:08 SAST-2
From: John Cooper <jcooper at botzoo.uct.ac.za>
To: seabird at uct.ac.za, birdbycatch at pond.net

SERVICE AND ALASKAN FISHING INDUSTRY UNITE TO PROTECT
THE ENDANGERED SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS AND OTHER
SEABIRDS

In an effort to reduce the taking of seabirds, including the
endangered short-tailed albatross, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission today signed an
agreement providing $400,000 to help longliners install seabird
deterrent devices on boats fishing the Bering Sea and North Pacific
off the coast of Alaska.

"Unfortunately, the short-tailed albatross and many other seabirds
have developed the habit of following commercial longline fishing
boats and diving on baited hooks -- often with deadly results.
This unique partnership addresses this problem without disrupting
Alaska's vital fisheries industry," Jamie Rappaport Clark, Director
of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said. "With the support of the
Administration and Congress, we've established a Landowner Incentive
Program to provide on- the-ground dollars to people to further the
conservation of endangered species. That program made today's
agreement possible. This agreement is yet another example
demonstrating how the Endangered Species Act can and does work."

The fishing industry, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the
Fish and Wildlife Service, along with researchers at the University
of Washington's Sea Grant Program, have been working together to
develop and test various means of reducing the by-catch of seabirds,
including the short-tailed albatross. Preliminary results suggest
that, with a relatively small investment in seabird deterrent
devices, the loss of thousands of seabirds annually can be
dramatically reduced.

Today's agreement between the Service and the Commission will
promote the continued development and installation of seabird
deterrent devices on longline fishing boats in the Bering Sea and
North Pacific. The Commission will assist the Service in providing
cost-sharing dollars to fishers for the installation of various
devices that will significantly reduce the by- catch of seabirds.
The Service anticipates that the $400,000 provided by the Landowner
Incentive Program will be leveraged to more than $600,000 by
cost-sharing with the industry. This will allow all of the 36
large freezer longliner fishing vessels and approximately half of the
2,000 smaller longline vessels to install seabird deterrent devices.

"This effort is good for the albatross and other seabirds, good for
the fishing industry, and is a tribute to all those individuals who
focused on finding solutions to this conservation challenge, " David
B. Allen, the Service's Alaska Regional Director, said.

The short-tailed albatross, a long-lived seabird that is also the
largest in the northen hemisphere, spends nearly its entire adult
life soaring over the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. The
short-tailed albatross is listed as endangered internationally under
the Endangered Species Act. The Service has proposed extending this
designation to also cover U.S. waters.

The world's population of short-tailed albatross, which once totaled
about 5 million birds, was devastated by feather hunters during the
late 1800s and early 1900s. In the 1930s its numbers were further
decimated by volcanic eruptions on Torishima, Japan, one of only two
islands where it was known to nest. By the 1940s scientists
estimated that fewer than 50 adult birds survived. Today, the entire
world population totals only 1,200 birds. Nearly the entire
population nests on Torishima Island, and efforts are being made to
stabilize the steep eroding slopes of their habitat on this volcanic
island.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National
Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 520 national
wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special
management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64
fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such
as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and
hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

You can subscribe to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska
region listserver, to have our press releases sent to your e-mail
address automatically by sending an e-mail message to:
listserver at www.fws.gov. Please indicate that you would like to
subscribe to FWS-Alaska news and give your name in the body of the
message.
- FWS -
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