Longitudinal analysis of historical seabird bycatch data in the North Pacific

Historical ecology is used by researchers to help understand how past interactions between people and their environment have shaped contemporary conditions. Though recent science has responded to the many management challenges of the ocean, the lack of analysis and limited availability of archival data hinders our ability to place current ocean impacts in the historical context of exploitation. All 22 species of albatross and several species of petrels are currently listed as Near Threatened or Threatened by the IUCN with bycatch cited as the main threat. However, there are very few publicly available datasets on the interactions between fisheries and seabirds before the 1990’s. The purpose of this project was to explore and analyze historical data collections from the Smithsonian and the USGS. These overlooked records contain seabird band return cards that specify extensive information from as early as the 1940’s on seabird bycatch occurrences in the North Pacific. With the inclusion of this new information, more thorough management may be implemented that accounts for the longitudinal gaps of modern day bycatch records through complementing current data sources with archival datasets.