Suzuki et al. (2024)

Yasuko Suzuki (BirdLife International), Motohiro Ito and his students (Toyo University), and Nobuhiko Sato (in an advisory role; Fisheries Research and Education Agency) continued an experimental study on a gillnet bycatch mitigation technique in collaboration with Tokyo Sea Life Park in Japan. At a Common Murre (Uria aalge) and Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) aviary with a dive pool at the aquarium, the experiment was carried out to compare their behavior to different colors of gillnet mimic. The mimic was created in such a way that bird safety was ensured. The net color comparison study was a shift from testing three mitigation ideas (LED lights, Common Murre alarm call, and above-water device with “looming eyes” pattern) in 2000/2021, based on advice from gillnet fishers. 

We also continued a systematic data collection project in Japan with local gillnet fishers in NW Hokkaido, including Teuri Island, a breeding site of four alcids and two cormorant species (four of them are listed in Japan’s Red Data Book). The project aims to evaluate environmental and operational factors for seabird bycatch in gillnet fisheries.