Entanglement and drowning of a Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) in a gill net recorded by a time-depth recorder in South-Central Chile

Various mitigation measures have been implemented to reduce incidental seabird mortality in longline and trawl fisheries but little attention has been given to artisanal fishing. In the 2008/09 breeding season, during a study of foraging of Humboldt, Spheniscus humboldti, and Magellanic Penguins, S. magellanicus, breeding on Puñihuil islets, southern Chile, a Magellanic Penguin equipped with a time-depth recorder became entangled and subsequently drowned in a gill net set for Corvina Drum (Cilus gilberti). The device was returned by fishermen and the data appear to be the first documented case of such a drowning in a marine, air-breathing vertebrate. According to the data, while diving to a depth of more than 50 m, the bird became entangled and drowned, remaining below 60 m for nearly 21 hours until the net was hauled. Although only a single incident is reported, there are indications that incidental mortality of penguins, other seabirds and marine mammals is more common in artisanal fisheries than previously anticipated.