This report introduces the topic of incidental take of seabirds in commercial fisheries and describes the fisheries industries, seabird bycatch and impacts in Alaska (U.S.A.), Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia, and provides national recommendations.
The report analyzes various human activities and the disturbances they may cause in Arctic seabird colonies and makes recommendations to reduce the harm in such activities.
The CAFF Working Group of the Arctic Council hosted this workshop on the incidental catch of seabirds in the waters of Arctic countries in response to recommendations put forth in the recent CAFF Technical Report No. 1 entitled Incidental Take of Seabirds in Commercial Fisheries in the Arctic Countries. A second focus of the workshop was longline incidental catch, in response to The International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries a voluntary instrument of the FAO.
