Googly-eye scarecrow could reduce number of seabirds caught in nets

A floating scarecrow with googly eyes could help reduce the number of seabirds caught in fishing nets, researchers have said.

The "looming-eyes buoy" with big eye spots and a looming movement can create a visual deterrent close to gillnets, a curtain of netting that hangs in the water, to prevent birds diving into them, getting entangled and drowning.

A group of scientists, including from Birdlife International and the RSPB'S Centre for Conservation Science, workedwithmarineengineers to develop the device, which was then tested on long-tailed ducks in Estonian waters.

The trial, which clocked up 250 hours of observation and counts of 10,000 birds, found the number of birds were reduced by 20-30% within a 50 metre (164 ft) radius of the floating scarecrow, compared to traditional fishing buoys.

The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said the birds came back to the area after the buoy had been removed, showing they were not permanently deterred from the spot.

The device could help tackle the issue of bycatch, in which an estimated 400,000 seabirds are caught and drowned in gillnet fisheries around the world each year, with species such as black guillemots, longtailed ducks and velvet scoters at risk.

Yann Rouxel, lead author of the study, and bycatch project officer at the Birdlife International marine programme, said: "Unfortunately seabirds can drown if caught up in the nets.”