Out-thinking sea birds.
Sea birds follow fishing boats - it’s an inevitable feature of working in a natural environment.
They can’t be reasoned with and they are relentless in their search for an easy meal.
Scare to save
The fishing industry has employed a number of mitigating actions to reduce bird by-catch.
All boats in the fleet are required by law to feature bird-scaring streamer systems to scare birds away from baited hooks until they disappear under water behind the boat. Non-compliance can result in massive fines or boat confiscations, and as such streamers are standard non-negotiable gear for every boat and every setting.
Along with other initiatives like weighted lines and sinkers to speed the deployment of hooks and bait underwater, to in-boat deployment troughs, to low light or night time setting to reduce bird visibility, the industry has achieved substantial and continuous reductions in bird by-catch over time.