A long-line fishing vessel granted permission to fish in Bermuda?s waters should not impact bird life or the turtle population, the Ministry of Environment said. The Eagle Eye II was granted a two month license to long-line fish in order to explore the viability of commercial fishing with this method.

On Wednesday Andrew Dobson, President of Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds, questioned if the ship would use simple methods - such as weighted lines and fishing at night - to prevent the killing of seabirds during the expedition.

He said long-line fishing was one of the biggest killers of seabirds, particularly 17 species of albatrosses. Ministry of Environment spokesman said: ?The Eagle Eye II has a well-established record in conservation-oriented fishery research.?

He said the ship used weighted lines so the bait is out of reach of seabirds and would only be setting the lines overnight - when seabirds are less likely to feed. The vessel also uses circle hooks, which have been shown to be very effective in reducing post-release mortality of protected or regulated species

He said most news reports concerning sea bird mortalities stem from the southern oceans, mainly the Pacific Ocean and that an independent study by the Pelagic Observer Program in the US found that birds had not been killed by long-line fishing in this region between 1992 and 2002.

The spokesman said: ?With respect to turtles, Captain Caldwell has received special training by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in handling and tagging sea turtles. ?The vessel participated in a three year program to assess the impact of long-lining on sea turtles and was instrumental in developing the techniques for handling and tagging large sea turtles on long-liners. ?Several scientific publications have resulted from this work and the Eagle Eye is identified as a key player in this research.?

While there is no independent observer on the Eagle Eye II, there are two local fishermen on board who have been asked to document all aspects of the operation, he said. The Eagle Eye II will also be recording all by-catch, wildlife that was not intended to be caught, as part of the data collection aspect of the programme, which required to do by NMFS.

The spokesman also said the Ministry was in compliance of all International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas resolutions regarding pelagic long-lining and conservation measures.