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 Among
many other seabirds, the Cape Gannet (Morus Capensis),
a seabird listed under AEWA, is killed by the hundred every
year, due to longline fishing in the Benguela Current Large
Marine Ecosystem.
For the first time, BirdLife South Africa
and WWF South Africa have released a report that assesses
the impact of longline fishing on vulnerable species foraging
in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem, a rich and
biodiverse ecosystem that stretches up the west coast of
South Africa and the entire of the Namibian and Angolan
coasts.
The report estimates that annually approx.
34,000 seabirds are victims of the impacts of fishing operations
in this area; not to mention 4,200 sea turtles and over
7 million demersal and pelagic sharks, rays and skates that
are killed as well.
The Cape Gannet, a bird species protected
by AEWA (Status: Column A, 1b 1; Column B, 2a
2, 2c 3) is among those seabirds,
such as different kinds of the Albatross species, being
killed by the thousand. The effects of the longline fishery
are particularly serious because the Cape Gannet is listed
as vulnerable and is also a Benguela endemic.
The report provides practical recommendations
for keeping the birds away from the baits and makes specific
recommendations for the three countries involved.
1:Column A, Category 1: (b)
Species which are listed as threatened in Threatened Birds
of the World (BirdLife International 2005)
2, 3: Column B, Category
2: Populations numbering more than around 100,000 individuals
and considered to be in need of special attention as a result
of:
(a) Concentration onto a small number of sites at any stage
of their annual cycle;
(b) Dependence on a habitat type, which is under severe
threat;
Lewis,
S., Gre´ millet, D., Daunt, F., Ryan, P.G., Crawford,
R.J.M., Wanless, J., (2006). Using behavioural and state
variables to identify proximate causes of population change
in a seabird. Oecologia (2006) 147: 606–614.
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