Standard Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Understanding the fisheries-interaction risk of the endangered Antipodean Albatross in the dynamic seascape (#256)

Ho Fung Wong 1 , Kylie L Scales 1 , David S Schoeman 1
  1. University of Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Fisheries bycatch is one of the major threats to seabirds globally and an obstacle to fisheries sustainability. Several studies have identified hotspots of bycatch risk to non-target species using marine predators and vessels satellite tracking data. However, few have considered the underlying influence of physical variability and change in the dynamic spatial structuring of overlap risk. In collaboration with the New Zealand Department of Conservation, we bring together high-resolution satellite tracking data of endangered and bycatch-sensitive Antipodean albatross Diomedea antipodensis with Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from Global Fishing Watch, and data describing mesoscale (10s-100s kilometres) ocean state and variability from satellite remote sensing and ocean models. We characterised bio-physical conditions underlying hotspots of fisheries-interaction risk for the breeding population, with a particular interest in the importance of mesoscale surface features such as fronts and eddies. Using Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) to quantify the influence of dynamic seascape conditions on the intensity of overlap between high-use albatross habitats and fisheries efforts, we found that frontal zones appeared to be important in explaining interaction risk areas in the preliminary model. Using these insights, we will test the potential for building dynamic predictive models of fisheries interaction risk for the Antipodean Albatrosses.