Report of the trial on net monitoring cable/warp seabird-strike mitigation measures conducted by the Chinese F/V SHEN LAN during the 2022/23 fishing season

TThe Chinese krill fishing vessel F/V SHEN LAN conducted her first trial on net monitoring cable seabird-strike mitigation measure during the 2022/23 fishing season in accordance with CM 25-03 (2022). Two types of fishing systems were used. The continuous trawling system was used only during the initial period of the fishing season before 16 Jan 2023, and the conventional midwater trawl was used thereafter. Net monitoring cable was used during the continuous trawling period and a set of mitigation devices were deployed to minimize seabird strike. A total of 65.5 hours on-vessel bird-strike observations (video+deck), amounting to 7.8% of the overall fishing hours. No seabird strikes were observed either on the net monitoring cables (NMC) or on the trawl warps or mitigation devices. During the conventional trawling period, observation on seabird warp-strike was conducted at least once daily, following the standard warp strike observation protocols outlined in the SISO krill logbook instruction. No seabird strikes were observed during the conventional trawling period either. An additional 50 hours’ onshore observation by video footage replay was conducted and 10 bird-strikes were observed. The result implied that visual condition, weather and configuration of the mitigation devices may affect the occurrence of and the visual observation on bird strikes. The F/V SHEN LAN will continue to conduct the trial in accordance with CM25-03 and the decision made by the Commission.