Preliminary results 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

The 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 by the vessel during this fishing season. The continuous trawling system was only used from 22 Dec 2022 to 15 Jan 2023 in Subarea 48.2, and the conventional midwater trawl was used thereafter. 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 65.5 hours on-vessel bird-strike observations (video+deck), accounting for 7.8% of the total fishing hours, were conducted following the requirement outlined in CM 25-03/Annex A. No seabird strikes were observed either on the net monitoring cables (NMC), trawl warp or mitigation devices. During the conventional trawling period, observation on seabird warp-strike was conducted at least once daily, following the current standard warp strike observation protocols outlined in the SISO krill logbook instruction. No seabird strikes were observed during the conventional trawling period either. SHEN LAN will continue to conduct the trial during the 2023/24 fishing season, following the requirement of CM25-03 and the decision made by the Commission.