Fine‐scale interactions between boats and large albatrosses indicate variable susceptibility to bycatch risk according to species and populations

Many seabirds are attracted to fishing boats where they exploit foraging opportunities, often involving bycatch-related mortality. Bycatch risk is generally estimated by overlapping ranges with coarse-scale monthly maps of efforts, but a more direct estimation would be the time birds actually spend attending boats. Here we matched data from Automatic Identification Systems all declared in Southern Ocean, 143 simultaneous trips populations large albatrosses (Diomedea amsterdamensis and Diomedea exulans) breeding Indian Ocean (Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Amsterdam islands). We quantified compared real-time co-occurrence between albatrosses, at different scales (100, 30 5 km). also examined what extent large-scale (5×5° grid cell) predicted fine-scale attendance (5 Albatrosses on average spent about 3 h per trip (<5 km) both Marion Kerguelen. In populations, >90% boat attendances occurred within Economic Exclusive Zones (EEZ) bycatch mitigation measures enforced. Outside EEZs, attended non-fishing Fishing density scale × 5°, 100 was poor predictor across populations. Our results indicate variation densities discuss pros cons considering geographical methods that can implemented improve seabird vulnerability activities when available, particularly for conservation those highly threatened species.