DISTRIBUTION OF SEABIRDS OFF THE NORTH-CENTRAL PERUVIAN COAST IN 2010 AUSTRAL WINTER AND ITS POTENTIAL INTERACTION WITH THE FISHERIES

From July 14 to 25, 2010 (austral winter), an evaluation of seabirds was performed between latitudes 7o00'S and 10o59'S, in front to the regions of La Libertad, Ancash and northern Lima, at a distance of 8.33 km to 78.71 km (4.50 M and 42.50 M) off the coast line. A total of 25001 birds, corresponding to 23 species was counted. There was an average of 2.38 sp./km2where Puffinus griseus (Gmelin, 1789) had the highest density, 20.73 ind/km2. The greatest number of species was present in 9°S (20 spp., 87%) while the largest number of individuals was in 7°S (9778 ind, 39.1%). Most birds were concentrated within the continental shelf, between 18.52 km (10 M) and 46.30 km (25 M). The most notable records were two immature individuals of Thalassarche bulleri platei (Reichenow, 1898) and three individuals of Creagrus furcatus (Neboux, 1846) in breeding plumage. Among the birds that were more attracted to the boat were Phoebastria irrorata (Salvin, 1883), C. furcatus and Leucophaeus modestus (Tschudi, 1843), so these species could be potentially susceptible to capture by fishing activities.