Spirit of Adventure

Dr Graham Robertson, a seabird ecologist, has jointly won an award for a new long-line fishing device designed to reduce by-catch of seabirds. The Underwater Bait Launcher, invented by Dr Robertson and Amerro engineering, was awarded the $45,000 WWF Smart Gear Competition in Spain. Over the years, Peregrine has, with your help, raised almost A$600,000 towards projects aimed at saving the albatross, with particular focus on the Bait Setting Launcher.

The machine is designed for use on surface long-line fishing vessels such as tuna and swordfish boats. It uses a capsule which carries baited hooks six metres underwater, out of reach of seabirds. Each year more than 300,000 seabirds including albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters drown on long-lines when they dive after baited hooks. Dr Robertson said many species of seabirds are threatened with extinction because of long-line fishing practices: “Hundreds of millions of hooks are set off tuna boats each year, so if a new system to stop seabird mortality is not widely used soon; it may be too late for some bird species”.

The machine cost almost half a million dollars to develop, but it is hoped that it will retail for around $25,000. “While the machine may seem expensive, you have to remember that a single tuna can fetch up to $2,000 at the fish markets, so it’s not really that much of an investment for the fisherman,” Dr Robertson said. The Launcher is currently being trialled in the waters off Queensland in Australia, and will undergo further tests in long-lining hot spots off South America next year.

As many of you are aware, Peregrine has donated a significant amount of funds raised to this project and we continue to assist Dr Robertson with this fantastic initiative, through many planned fundraising events and onboard donations for the 2009-2010 Antarctic season and beyond. 2010 will be the most important, as the testing phase will be finished and it is intended that at least one device will be fitted onto a Uruguayan fishing vessel. Finally we’ll start saving the albatross. A big thank you to all of you who have donated over the last eight years.

To learn more about this initiative please visit our website or to donate click here.