The 12th meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) this week (June 7-11 ) in Muscat, Oman has struck a major step forward for seabird conservation by adopting a measure to reduce the bycatch of vulnerable albatross and petrel species.All longline vessels fishing for tuna and swordfish in the southern Indian Ocean (south of 30°S) will be required to use a combination of at least two measures to reduce seabird bycatch.Measure include requiring boats to set their hooks at night when birds are less active, using a bird streamer (tori) line to keep birds away from the hooks, adding weight to lines to make them sink more quickly out of reach of the albatrosses, and dyeing bait blue to make it less visible. The fisheries are given flexibility to choose which two measures from this list are most suitable to their fishery. The meeting agreed technical specifications for use of these measures.
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