Preliminary results of the trial on net monitoring cable/warp seabird-strike mitigation measures conducted by the Chinese F/V SHEN LAN during the 2023/24 fishing season

The Chinese krill fishing vessel F/V SHEN LAN conducted consecutively her second trial on net monitoring cable seabird-strike mitigation measure during the 2023/24 fishing season in accordance with CM 25-03 (2023). Two types of fishing systems were used by the vessel during the current fishing season. The continuous trawling system was used from 7 February to 17 May 2024 in Subareas 48.2 and 48.1, and the conventional midwater trawl was used from 11 July up to the end of fishing operation. The net monitoring cable was used during the continuous trawling period and a trial of mitigation devices were deployed to minimize seabird strike. A total of 249.6 hours on-vessel bird-strike observations, accounting for 11.8% of the total fishing hours, were conducted following the requirement outlined in CM 25-03/Annex A. Fifteen seabird strikes were observed in the observation period of continuous trawling. During the conventional trawling period, observation on seabird warp-strike was conducted following the current standard warp strike observation protocols outlined in the SISO krill logbook instruction. Eight seabird strikes were observed during the conventional trawling period either. F/V SHEN LAN is planned to continue to conduct the trial during the 2024/25 fishing season, following the requirement of CM 25-03, if applicable, and the decision made by the Commission this year.