Postbreeding dispersal and drift-net mortality of endangered Japanese Murrelets
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Abstract
The incidental catch of seabirds in high-seas drift nets was recorded in 1990-1991 by scientific observers on commercial squid and large-mesh fishery vessels operating in the North Pacific Transitional Zone. Twenty-six Synthliboramphus murrelet deaths were recorded in the months of August through December. All but one were from the Korean squid fishery in a small area bounded by 38°-44°N and 142°-157°E. Five specimens of the dead birds were collected and later identified as Japanese Murrelets (S. wumizusume). As fishing effort was widely distributed over a large area east of Japan, these data suggest that postbreeding Japanese Murrelets migrate north to winter in a relatively small area southeast of Hokkaido, where persistent eddies form at the confluence of the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents. Fronts between cold Oyashio water and Kuroshio warm-core eddies promote the aggregation of zooplankton and pelagic fishes, which in turn may attract murrelets during the nonbreeding season. The estimated total mortality of Japanese Murrelets in high-seas drift-net fisheries represents a significant proportion of the total world population of this rare and endangered species.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Postbreeding dispersal and drift-net mortality of endangered Japanese Murrelets |
| Series title | The Auk |
| DOI | 10.2307/4088827 |
| Volume | 111 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Year Published | 1994 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Ornithological Society |
| Contributing office(s) | Alaska Science Center |
| Description | 9 p. |
| First page | 953 |
| Last page | 961 |
| Country | Japan |
| Other Geospatial | North Pacific Transitional Zone |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |